Inglourious Basterds - Graphic but Good

Meet the Inglorious Bastards, er, the Inglourious Basterds: a quintessential Quentin Tarantino clan (see also Reservoir Dogs) helmed by an accent-affected Brad Pitt. Pitt, who plays a sort of Tennessean hillbilly, is the ringleader of the group of mostly Jewish-American soldiers whose aim is to kill — specifically by scalping — Nazis. It's as disgusting as it sounds, but the film is not all gory and the Basterds are only one in a series of interwoven stories. In fact, Brad Pitt and his band of men are each in fewer than half of the movie's chapters. Yes, there is violence but the biggest tone of the movie is artfully crafted tension that left me holding my breath, wondering where the action was going to come from next.

At its core, the film has the violent tendencies you'd expect from writer/director Tarantino. It's incredibly graphic and gory, but it's peppered with moments of genuine humor (albeit of the dark variety) with just a small dash of romance. In this regard, Basterds is very much like his classic film Pulp Fiction, but topically, the two couldn't be more different.

The movie begins with an incredible and very intense scene between a Nazi colonel (played by Christopher Waltz) and French countryman Perrier LaPadite (Denis Menochet). It sets up the tone of the film perfectly, while introducing one of the most chilling villains I've ever seen on the big screen, played superbly by Waltz. The vignette could stand alone as a short film, and doesn't quite blend in with the rest of the movie, but it will be what stays with you long after you've walked out of the theater. The rest of Basterds fast-forwards a few years, but I haven't seen the last of the first scene's survivors.

Elsewhere, Aldo Raine (Pitt) is prepping his troops to drop into Europe and kill as many Nazis as possible — he wants each solider to gather 100 scalps. Based on some of the more graphic scenes, the mission is a success. Most of their work takes place off-screen but their influence is clear when a bumbling Hitler and his high ranking official start trembling in their boots. As the Basterds' popularity rises, they're presented with an opportunity that ropes in famous actress and spy Bridget von Hammrsmark (Diane Kruger). The movie is building up to a climactic movie premiere, but unbeknownst to the Basterds, they're not the only ones plotting.

This, for me, is when the movie really starts getting good. Firstly, based on her relatively small résumé, I was not expecting to be so blown away by Kruger. She's simply stunning in her role including carrying one of the longest and most intense scenes. Pitt also pulls off the necessary swagger and bravado that goes with his ringleader role. When these two get together the screen seems to warm to their combined presence. Both Pitt and Kruger also add to the element of humor in the film, which is clear throughout all 2.5 hours of it.

It's hard to talk much more about the plot without spoilers, but it's one of the most satisfying — and quite frankly, entertaining and thought-provoking — movies I've seen in some time. If you can stomach the violence, the film is worth its weight in gold (or blood).

Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Neurotic Mixed with Beautiful

I'd probably say I'm a medium-sized fan of Woody Allen. If I were ordering a dose of Woody Allen at Starbucks, I'd probably get it in a grande cup. His nebbishy dialogue style grates on my nerves after too long, and some of his movies remind me of me at my most neurotic, which is tiring. Vicky Cristina Barcelona is more of the same Allenistic stuff I've grown to expect, but it's also given a refreshing jolt from the (mostly) talented and entirely beautiful cast. There's a nice balance of overthinky anxiety, wacky storyline, and attractive people to make this Woody Allen film a medium-sized, easy-to-drink treat.

The movie is narrated as though someone is reading us a story, and the detached commentary provides occasional insights into the thoughts and feelings of the protagonists, which I appreciated in this case. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) are girlfriends who set off for a summer in Barcelona. They soon befriend a famous painter, Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), who is known for his volatile relationship with his ex-wife, Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz).

Cristina becomes Juan Antonio's paramour, but before too long, Vicky finds herself drawn to him as well, despite her engagement to the wealthy, steady Doug (Chris Messina). The love triangle becomes a square when the emotionally unstable Maria Elena returns to live in Juan Antonio's house, which he now shares with Cristina. The tangled web gets messier — and funnier — as the summer goes on.

It's easy to relax into this Summer-in-Spain atmosphere, and the city lends a softer, friendlier vibe to the film than the usual fast-paced craziness of New York City, Allen's frequent location of choice. Bardem and Cruz are two of the hottest human beings ever, in my opinion, and both are superb as the love-crazed, passionate artists forever enmeshed in a love/hate, push-pull relationship. Even if they weren't superb, I would love watching them.

Using Spanish actors in a Spanish setting (as opposed to solely focusing on the Americans' experiences abroad) was wise, and these two often carry some of the wackier scenes simply because they are so comfortable in the setting. They're less easy with some of the anxious, uniquely Woody Allen-y dialogue, but frankly, so is Johansson. For all that talk of her being a "muse," she doesn't do very well with Allen's material. The one who really and truly does is Rebecca Hall, playing a character who thinks so much and so intensely about everything, she has a hard time just relaxing and being content. Sound like anyone else we could name? It's like she was born to star in a Woody Allen film, and I hope we get to see her in more of them.

Happy-Go-Lucky: A Sweet Stirring Slice of Life

When Happy-Go-Lucky begins I meet Poppy, a single woman in her 30s, who has just discovered a new bookstore and does her darnedest to charm the store clerk with her goofy persona — despite the fact he's completely annoyed and hardly acknowledges her. This opening struck me as awfully precarious and could have easily bombed due to Poppy's perkiness, but it doesn't.

And that's because the star of the movie, Sally Hawkins, who plays the optimistic Poppy, is so brilliant in this role, and this would-be cringe-worthy moment successfully launches one of the sweetest movies I've seen in a long time.

The movie is essentially plotless and is more of a character study, focusing on a woman whose outlook on life remains defiantly sunny despite the world's inevitable darkness and sorrow. Poppy has a great life: a wonderful roommate Zoe, a great job teaching kids, and eventually a sweet guy. She's so dang upbeat I almost felt resentful of her and I thought I'd be in for one long, perky, brightly-colored slog. But the effect is just the opposite because beneath the froth and the lightheartedness something much more substantive lies at the heart of this movie. Something that addresses much of the human experience at once: sadness, longing, confusion, and hopefulness.

As I watch Poppy go about her life as a single gal in the city, I see her interact with various people that make up her world including a high-strung driving instructor named Scott whom she's hired to give her lessons. Scott is played by Eddie Marsan, another actor in this film who gives an amazing performance. At first I wanted to write Scott off as a grumpy guy who Poppy rubs the wrong way, but each new scene in the cramped little car gradually reveals that he is a complicated and disturbed paranoid. There are many things he says and does to Poppy along the way that would make any other person request a new teacher, but instead of feeling frightened or irritated by him, she gives him the benefit of the doubt and often challenges his views.

It's in these scenes that I see Poppy as more than just a regular happy woman and as someone who, even in the face of bizarre and awful situations, can't help but understand that all that awfulness comes from a place she can probably understand. In her eyes Scott isn't someone to toss away as a racist nut-job, but a person who is so clearly in pain.

The movie drives at this empathy, which extends to everyone from discontented married couples in the burbs to a mentally ill homeless man in the city. Rather than express disdain for the choices people make, Happy-Go-Lucky seeks to examine the things all of us have in common in a way that rings true. I couldn't help but see my own life reflected back at me as I watched Poppy with her friends and family and colleagues. To me that was so refreshing — a movie that depicted life as it is, instead of as a fantasy and that still gave me warm fuzzies. What an accomplishment!

Director Mike Leigh has created something magical and irresistible in this little movie that is nothing short of brilliant. I recommend you rush to see it.

Movie Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The notion of youth being wasted on the young is a compelling one, without a doubt. It inspired a famous Mark Twin quote, which in turn inspired an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, which has now lent its name to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a film starring Brad Pitt as the title character, born old and destined to die young.

It sounds like a fairytale, and at times, the screen version feels like one, with ethereal flashbacks, eerily spot-on visual effects, and a sweet if improbable romance between Benjamin and his normally-aging love, Daisy (Cate Blanchett). But the director and screenwriter almost crowd out the movie's central love story with too much stuff — there's a hurricane plot, a daughter learning the truth about her family, and nearly an hour of Benjamin's wacky adventures. Instead of enveloping the audience in a mystical story, it fights against its narrative, constantly breaking its own spell. Yet there are reasons to watch Benjamin Button even when it feels like work.

Though it doesn't fully kick in till almost halfway through the movie, the relationship between Benjamin and Daisy is worth the price of admission. They're sweet as children (Daisy young, Benjamin physically decrepit) and as 20-somethings (Daisy cool and sophisticated, Benjamin finally starting to look like Brad Pitt), but it's when they meet in the middle, in their 40s, that their love story takes over the film. They don't have much time as equals, and that lends an urgency to their relationship that the rest of the movie lacks. Pitt rightfully gets praised for his work as Benjamin, but Blanchett should get more credit for her performance; unlike Pitt, she doesn't have a voiceover to guide her through the story, but she's a strong enough actress to show Daisy's emotions even without the luxury of explaining them.

It's a shame that the director couldn't trust that story to work on its own, because with that relationship at the center — and maybe with some deeper musings from Benjamin on what it means to be living his life this way — the movie could have been a masterpiece. Instead, it feels emotionally remote and over-cluttered, with a structure reminiscent of both Forrest Gump and Titanic. The early scenes with Benjamin growing up in a New Orleans retirement home are strong — and Taraji P. Henson is outstanding as Queenie, the mother figure who discovers Benjamin abandoned on her stoop and raises him as her own — but once Benjamin leaves home and joins a tugboat crew, the movie drags. It doesn't help that the flashbacks are intercut with scenes of a dying Daisy in the hospital; that plotline never really hits its stride emotionally and mostly just feels detached. And a few references to Hurricane Katrina permanently anchor the movie in a particular era, which feels at odds with its more timeless qualities.

Luckily, just when Benjamin Button starts to feel aimless, the love story takes center stage — and, with that, the movie builds some momentum to reach a satisfying enough end. The special effects are also remarkable (and it's a good thing, because when you're talking about aging Brad Pitt's face and putting it on someone else's body, doing it poorly would be disastrous).

As good as it is in parts, Benjamin Button ends up falling short of what it could have been.

Movie Review: Doubt

Doubt is a tense, thought-provoking and incredibly well-written play, and it must be difficult to adapt such a dense play for the big screen. With a play there's the understanding that we're somewhat confined in terms of location and there's often a lot of talking and emoting. The film adaptation of Doubt is pretty much entirely talking and emoting. It's not that that's a bad thing, per se, it's just that it requires a bit more wrangling of the ol' attention span than most movies require. In some ways, I'm not completely sure why it was adapted for the big screen, except to cement in cinematic history these exceptional performances by some of today's Hollywood giants.

There's nothing visually interesting about it (at all), though surely the visuals aren't the focus here. The exploration of what's moral and good, which sin is greater than another sin, and the back-and-forth dance of trust and suspicion — these are central to the story that Doubt attempts to tell. But it is, well, a lot of talking. It's often absorbing because these actors so expertly guide us through the narrative, but it might take a particularly patient modern-day moviegoer to enjoy this movie.

The story takes place in a Bronx Catholic school in 1964 where the school's stern, unyielding principal, Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) becomes suspicious of the parish priest, the likable Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), when he takes a particular shine to one boy: The school's first black student, Donald Miller (Joseph Foster). Father Flynn insists that he is merely trying to help a lonely, isolated boy, but Sister Aloysius is convinced that the nature of this relationship is inappropriate. The sweet, young nun Sister James (Amy Adams) is pulled into the conflict and doesn't know who to believe: Her kind and gentle-seeming priest or this steely nun who is utterly certain (despite a lack of hard evidence) of wrongdoing. The audience is basically in Sister James's shoes, wanting to believe the best about this seemingly good-hearted priest, but worried that if there is something going on and it goes ignored then this boy will be further harmed.

The performances are top-notch, and all the awards buzz was completely deserved. Restricted by clothing and (for the women) modest head-covering bonnets, as well as a nearly action-free script, it's up to the actors and their facial expressions, vocal intonation, and slight changes in body language to convey the emotion within this story. Lesser actors would have brought down the entire thing, but as it is, Streep, Hoffman, Adams and Viola Davis (who plays Donald's mother) manage to make this heavy, talky script loom more powerfully before us than I ever thought possible. They each have such tremendous presence, emitting a heat that we can practically feel in the audience. However, all in all it feels like watching a play, so if you aren't exactly a fan of plays, this may not be the movie for you.

Movie Review: Australia

Every once in a while, a movie comes around that reminds me what going to the movies is all about. It's a spectacle and an adventure and a love story. It’s full of magic, passion, music and breathtaking aerial shots. Australia is like the restoration of a long-lost cinematic art. It's pure entertainment with a human element to it that’s just emotional enough. With Australia, director Baz Luhrmann has brought me the most sweeping, grandiose, and visually stunning epic film of the year.

And in keeping with all the larger-than-life aspects of this production, Hugh Jackman of course embodies the manliest character ever. Playing a drover (a person who moves livestock, like cattle, over long distances) who's only ever referred to as "Drover," he's like a Greek god and John Wayne mixed together — but with an Australian accent. Under Luhrmann's watchful eye, Jackman's beautiful physique and macho charm help create something like an old-fashioned Western. The sunset softly lighting a wide landscape view, the pounding of galloping horses kicking dust up into the air, and a rugged man on horseback all make for a fine-looking movie indeed.

So that's most of what I like about the film — Luhrmann's lovely direction and Hugh Jackman — but there are other things.

There are essentially two parts to the narrative in this movie. The first has to do with the very prim and very British Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman), who gains sudden control of a cattle station in Australia called Faraway Downs, having to get a huge number of cattle onto a ship. She relies on a rather motley crew to help her with this task, including the sexy, no-nonsense Drover and a mixed-race Aboriginal child (sometimes referred to as "creamy"), Nullah. Young Nullah narrates throughout the film, referring to Lady Sarah Ashley as "Mrs. Boss," which adds a sort of innocence and truthfulness to it all.

The second part of the story deals with protecting Faraway Downs from shady folks, and suffering an air strike as World War II rages on. Amidst all this, there is the ever-present danger of having Nullah forcibly taken away by the state in order to integrate him into white society (and to "breed the black out" of him as one character disgustingly puts it). In Australia, the mixed-race children who endured such removals were known as the Stolen Generations, and at some point Lady Sarah Ashley becomes determined to prevent Nullah from this terrible fate. In addition to all this, there are the general story arcs for the individual characters, most notably how the chilly "Mrs. Boss" learns how to passionately love three things: Nullah, Drover, and Australia.

The film is lengthy and there are a few moments when I thought it was over, only to find that there was much more in store for me, and for the first time at a super-long movie I actually hoped it wouldn't end. There are moments of cheesiness (like the frequent metaphoric reference to the movie The Wizard of Oz and its tune "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"), but it's not nearly as campy as Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge nor as over-the-top crazy as Romeo and Juliet. In comparison to those two films, Australia is really just a straightforward tale of romance and adventure in the Outback. Sure it’s incredibly long, but if you have the time and inclination, this movie is well worth the time and money — especially when viewed in all its dramatic splendor on a great, big screen.

Quantum of Solace - Just an Action Flick

Where Casino Royale was bright, shiny and breathtaking, Quantum of Solace is cold, steely, and flat. Don't get me wrong — the explosions, gun play, and dry quips are all present and accounted for. But where there might've been a compelling narrative there's just a string of action sequences and chase scenes, interrupted by the occasional heart-to- cold, mistrusting spy heart. It's not bad, it's just that it seems like there's no real pulse beating behind Bond's deadly calm veneer.

Daniel Craig reprises his role as superspy James Bond, who is still consumed by anger at having been betrayed by Vesper Lynd, the woman he loved. Still, he wishes to take revenge on the company that blackmailed Vesper and in his search, he and M (Judi Dench) uncover the plans of Dominic Greene, the shady leader of an environmentalist company, to take control of Bolivia's water supply from the equally shady General Medrano. In the midst of all this, Bond meets Camille, who has her own vengeful plan in mind for General Medrano. Camille and Bond then become partners in crime (literally) in their efforts to take down Dominic and Medrano.

One of the things I like best about this movie is that the "Bond Girl" (Camille) isn't just there to sexily wield a gun and sleep with Bond. In fact, she has her own past and her own agenda — and it never includes sleeping with Bond. It’s rather refreshing, really, and hers is the story that intrigued me the most, by far. While it’s fun to see Bond kick some butt and continuously lock and load, it might have been fun to have had some more mystery in this story of our "international man of mystery," so to speak. There is, however, plenty of the "international": we leap and soar and zoom from country to country (each with its own font, a quirky touch), with little breathing room in between each location's requisite fight scene.

In general, it would have been cool to have had some more scheming and more outwitting the opposition, and maybe less of a blindly rage-filled Bond just blowing away everyone and everything in his path. While that might have been the intention — to show how much Vesper’s death has messed with our hero and left him colder and crueler — it’s not altogether satisfying to watch for two hours. It is still a treat to see Daniel Craig onscreen, and the intense action scenes are sure to please many moviegoers, but expecting more than that may leave one disappointed.

Movie Review: "Zack & Miri Make a Porno" is Shockingly Sweet

Don't get me wrong: Zack and Miri Make a Porno is extremely disgusting at times. But I expected that. I didn't expect it to be quite so sweet or touching (in the emotional way, gutter mind). I'm a huge Kevin Smith fan, and this latest product of his dirty, dirty mind does not disappoint. It's one part sex jokes, one part sweetness and eight parts F-bombs. It's certainly not for everyone and it's not going to go down in history as a cinematic tour de force, but it is hilarious and raunchy and oddly sweet.

Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) have been best friends since childhood, and now they room together in a Pittsburgh apartment. They're not the most ambitious pair, and when they run out of money, they need to come up with some fast cash in order to pay the rent and bills. Thus, they decide to make a porno. Their friend Delaney helps with casting, and soon four more (including real-life ladies from the world of adult entertainment, Traci Lords and Katie Morgan) join the project and the group is on its way to making a pornographic movie. But things get a little complicated (see? I could have used the word "sticky," but I didn't because that would have been gross) when these two just-friends decide to have sex together on camera. The main joke seems to be that pesky things like emotions and love get in the way of great, entertaining porn.

As I said, I like Kevin Smith's stuff in general, but this movie is on a different level, due in large part to the outrageously endearing lead duo. And here is an example of a male-female, lifelong friendship that honestly rings true, as opposed to other attempts like, say, the absurd relationship at the heart of Made of Honor. Seth Rogen seems like a guy you might legitimately be friends with, and it's so easy to relate to the funny and kinda weird Elizabeth Banks. They're just so dang lovable! So it stands to reason that in the movie, they would love each other.

Smith gives a lot of credit to Judd Apatow for having paved the road for mainstream acceptance of this style of comedic movies, films that theoretically could be called romantic comedies, but with humor so raunchy you gag a little sometimes. And it's true: With the success of comedies like 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, audiences have been exposed (har-dee-har) to this kind of humor in an appealing way and with likable actors like Steve Carell and Seth Rogen. But I actually think Smith is even better at this than Apatow is. His stories are set in places like New Jersey and Pittsburgh, for Pete's sake. There's just something beautifully unkempt and down-to-earth about these characters, and this somehow makes the funny funnier, the dirty dirtier, and the sweetness that much sweeter.

Moview Review: The Secret Life of Bees

When I left the theater after watching The Secret Life of Bees, I felt comforted and content, and it took me a while to understand why: This movie calls back to older, Southern-set, empowering movies like Steel Magnolias and Fried Green Tomatoes. Those films celebrate womanhood and the importance (and potency) of female friendship, all against the unique backdrop of the American South. The stories are beautiful and sentimental, with tragedy and heartache going hand-in-hand with love and humor. This is what The Secret life of Bees is like, while also including the tension of race relations in South Carolina in 1964 and a coming-of-age story. I've sometimes wondered mournfully if movies like these were no longer relevant or could not be made well in this day and age, so it is with relief that I report to you: They can, and have.

Dakota Fanning plays Lily, a 14-year-old girl in South Carolina whose mother died when she was young, leaving her in the care of an abusive father (Paul Bettany) and a kind housekeeper named Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson). Lily decides to run away from her father and her small town, and she takes Rosaleen with her. Included in her mother's belongings, Lily has a piece of wood with an image of a black Mary holding a black infant Jesus and the name of a town written on the back. So, Lilly and Rosaleen head off for this town and discover that the image of Mary matches the labels on some locally-made honey. Further investigation brings them to a bright pink house where the honey is made. It's more than just a brightly-colored house, though.

The pink house is home to the Boatwright sisters: May (the magnificently endearing Sophie Okonedo), June (Alicia Keys) and August (Queen Latifah). The sisters take in Lily and Rosaleen, though the suspicious June doesn't think it's a good idea. In the peaceful Boatwright home, Lily learns the secrets to making honey — and secrets to her past. Lily also discovers the story behind the Boatwright sisters' attachment to the black Mary, and watches as the women pray to Mary and worship her. Of course, no place is a utopia (even a bright pink house), and trouble seems to follow Lilly wherever she goes. But in the end it's a sweet and soulful little movie with a strong message of hope.

From time to time the movie veers into some Hallmark-y schmaltz, but the issues of the times — discrimination, violence at the dawn of great change — temper any silliness. The setup (three black women with a successful business taking in a little white girl and her caretaker) is also bizarre enough within this time period to somehow negate the possible cheesiness.

Having read the book I had my own vision of this world and the movie is not far off from what I imagined. I was worried that the idea of a religion that worships Mary would come across as silly in the film, as opposed to powerful and comforting. To my relief, it all works fine onscreen. The beauty of this tradition and these women's beliefs is easily conveyed, and it rings as true as any sisterhood (thankfully without any screaming of "ya-ya!"). This truthfulness and comfort stayed with me long after the credits rolled.

The Duchess: Oh, the (Beautifully Costumed) Drama

Of course The Duchess is dramatic. Georgiana Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire, led a dramatic life and she herself was a dramatic — and smart, and charismatic — woman. I really liked this movie, but I might have liked it more if it were a slightly broader examination of the Duchess. I don't mean that they should have included more years in her life (I think that would have been a mistake) but the vast majority of the film is about her romantic and reproductive woes. She was a daring, intelligent, and remarkably influential woman during a time when women were expected to be anything but those things. While I liked this sweeping period drama, I might have enjoyed less soap opera and a tad more substance.

The costumes, however, cannot be disputed, for they are devastatingly gorgeous. I would watch this movie over and over with the sound off just to feast my eyes on the clothes. Dressed to perfection in every scene, Keira Knightley plays Georgiana, who marries William Cavendish, the Duke of Devonshire when she is just a teenager. The marriage is soon strained as it appears that Georgiana will only bear daughters. While the relationship grows bitter in private, Georgiana starts to become quite popular in public and immerses herself in the world of politics and high society. She's a natural charmer and trend-setter, though her husband puts more and more distance between them, choosing other women over his wife. Before long, Georgiana finds herself falling in love with a young politician, Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper), but the threat of scandal proves too great for the Duke and Duchess and a relationship with Charles is forbidden. There's much more to the story, but I won't spoil things for you.

Knightley strongly carries the film with her focused, honest portrayal of the brightly alluring yet unfortunate Duchess of Devonshire, and if she veers into melodrama it’s because the material clearly calls for it. She’s still a relatively young actress, which I think people sometimes forget, and while she still appears young onscreen (with that permanently youthful bounce in her step, a fresh energy to even her most morose scenes), there is so much potential there for her to mature into a truly phenomenal performer. She acts with her entire body, conveying emotion in the tiniest details: her whole frame rigid with rage, a coquettish tip of her head and a sidelong glance, the utterly distraught balling up of one fist . . . these things inform our understanding of Georgiana's emotional landscape.

Most of the time I cringed and tsk-tsked at the wretchedness of this poor young woman’s life, as the story is basically a long string of relationship issues and anxiety over pregnancies. There are countless historical movies that, if they center on a woman at all, focus on the pressure to conceive a male heir, the havoc this wreaks on a marriage, and the power plays that arise between the women who can conceive and those who cannot. This is understandable, given the nature of society back then, and yet here’s a story with some built-in political drama as well, with a fearless, deeply inspiring female protagonist. I would have appreciated more of that story.

That said, I was riveted to this movie, intoxicated by the costumes and just as smitten with the Duchess as the rest of England seems to be. It’s a beautiful and sad film that is well worth seeing.

Movie Review: The Transporter

An ex-military man who now makes his living in the South of France as a transporter for all types of goods for bad guys, breaks one of his own personal rules of professional conduct, opens a contracted package and finds within...one Asian chick. Needless to say, the aforementioned bad guys aren't hip to our man breaking the rules and fiddling with their parcel, and prepare to blow his ass to kingdom come. A shirtless Jason Statham...ensues!

The idea behind any "popcorn" action movie is to provide audiences with a believable, charismatic "hero" and just enough over-the-top fun and action to make up for the lack of depth in its storyline. Some popcorn flicks actually manage to transcend the basic nugget of corn requirements, and are not only able to provide their audience with escapism galore, but a solid story and believable characters to boot (Die Hard is the ultimate example of such a film).

The Transporter doesn't check off all such requirements, but does provide enough cool, exciting action sequences to make up for its recyclable plot, dinky dialogue and lame bad guys. Another reason the film succeeds on some level is the presence of a new "action man", a dude who seems ready to join Vin Diesel as one of the few new action heroes of our day, a man who goes by the name of Jason Statham. Up until this film, Statham was satisfied in playing slick secondary characters in "guy movies", but he seems to have doubled his shifts at the gym for this role and showcases enough intensity, grit and balls (sounds like an order at Denny's), to make for an enjoyable 90+ minutes of fluff.

If you weren't a fan of this dude before, I see no reason why you wouldn't want to ride alongside him after the machismo he displays here. Good show, mate! The film also provides for a handful of groovy action sequences, starting with a frenetic car chase a la RONIN through the cobblestone streets of the French Riviera. In fact, the South of France provides for a gorgeous backdrop to the staple story.

Writer/producer Luc Besson knows his target audience as well as anyone and loads the film up with enough action, to keep folks jazzed during the tamer periods, hip-hop, to sell those soundtracks (not my groove) and kung-fu, ass-kickings, explosions and fire-power to quench any 15-year old male's cinematic thirst.

Unfortunately, the film doesn't try to be anything more than what it is, and despite the originality of some of its action scenes (I loved the "money shot" of Statham kicking through that door and the "oil" fight in particular), the plotline is as ho-hum as they come with a typical good-looking "bad guy" dressed in black with polished facial hair leading his disposable crew of bumbling side-kicks through the numbers of some idiotic "Asian slave trade" scenario. I did like how the bad guys actually took the time to paint shark faces on their missiles before launching them into Statham's home though-it's nice to know that some evil-doers take that extra pleasure in their work.

Things get even more melodramatic when another over-the-top bad guy, this time Asian (dressed in black with weird facial features), makes an appearance and brings along a ridiculous relationship with his daughter. Thankfully for us, Statham keeps his cool throughout, plays by his own rules, wears plenty of polished suits, ultimately takes off his shirt more times than Vin Diesel at a photo shoot and kicks bad guy arse left, right and even center. I also appreciated the chemistry between he and the subservient Asian chick, and might even have bought some of their "romance".

Of course, this movie isn't about the plot (which you'll forget as soon as the credits start to roll), the romance or the dialogue (most of which is serviceable at best), but about action, explosions and ass-kickings and if you're willing to sit through some less successful bits, like one of the most ineffectual cops this side of Frank Drebin, you will likely enjoy the goings-on limited by your expectations of what a movie like The Transporter is aiming to deliver.

Movie Review: Batman Begins

I was able to catch a lot of movies flying back & forth to Germany these past two weeks in case you were wondering why so many moview reviews.

So how did Batman become Batman? Well, this movie basically provided me the lowdown on all of that, as well as all of the background required to understand his transformation from young, rich punk to old, rich punk with a huge chip on his shoulder and a Batsuit in his closet. Add to that, trouble in his city of Gotham by the way of a variety of baddies, and I've got a movie co-starring that Katie Holmes for whom Tom Cruise likes to jump on couches. What ensues is lots of cool bat-shite…!

A dark, edgy, origin-based Batman flick that kicks the asses of the last two Bat-tries, kickstarts the disenfranchised franchise and finally provides me with an actor who is completely believable as both Bruce Wayne and Batman himself, Christian Bale. Batman Begins is great movie in many ways, but didn’t completely blow me away, as it seems to have others, with a small number of nagging bits, nudging me along the way. First, allow me to get the good stuff out of the way.

Based in reality, unlike its predecessors, this film really gave me that sense of a world that might actually be possible, with characters, gadgets and situations, all set in an environment that doesn’t go over-the-top (the little amount of CGI in the film also helped to that effect). That said, that realistic approach actually bothered me a little about halfway through the film, as I was impressed by its ability to keep things realistic, but missing the “fun” aspect from the comics and the first two Bat-flicks. The film’s grandly entertaining finale did make up for some of that though.

The actors in the film were also great across the board, particularly Bale, who I’ve fallen in love with since American Psycho, and who here, continued to embody characters entirely, with a rendition of Bruce Wayne that married his anger, humor and action-man personas idyllically. Tom Wilkinson was also tops as Falcone, as was Michael Caine as Alfred the Butler, adding that required sense of Wayne history and honor to the proceedings.

Bad-guy wise, I have to give the thumbs up to Cillian Murphy, super-creepy as Dr. Crane and the Scarecrow (maybe even more so as Dr. Crane!) with a steely look that would put the fear in anyone. Gary Oldman was good, but I wish he had a little more to do, while Katie Holmes actually wasn’t as bad as I thought she might be, in fact, she was just fine. Unfortunately for her, I thought that her character was too young to play that role, and would have preferred to see an older actress in her place.

Kudos also go out to director Christopher Nolan who was able to nix Joel Schumacher’s disaster Batman scenarios, and present the world with something a lot closer to what we’ve been reading in the comics for years, as well as a great pace, respected thespians, a memorable score, a decent amount of action pieces, and the return of the friggin’ dark knight…with the emphasis on the word “dark”.

That said, I had a bunch of “little problems” with the film, the biggest of which would probably have to be its fight sequences – the hand-to-hand combat stuff – which much like many of the most recent Hollywood flicks, were simply edited too fast, cut too quickly and left way too much to the imagination (Is that his hand? Was that his leg? Was that the baddie kicking him or he kicking the baddie?). For goodness sakes, why don’t directors leave the camera back a ways anymore, so that the audience can actually see the people fighting? Quick-cut-fighting sucks!!

Other small bits that bugged me included Batman’s voice when he was Batman, versus his voice as Bruce Wayne. In theory, I was actually very much for this idea, as it makes more sense to change your voice when you’re in a friggin’ Batsuit, but every time Bale spoke in that voice, I just thought it sounded goofy and forced.

I also didn’t like how they ended things with the Scarecrow (that’s the best that you could come up with?), thought the design of the Arkham Asylum was boring as heck, appreciated the scenes with the “Tumbler”, but still missed the Batmobile (which really can’t be replaced by an all-terrain vehicle – sorry!) and didn’t like the handful of one-liners one bit.

Last paragraph aside, I really did enjoy the movie overall, with its awesome look, its brilliant story, providing me with a great sense of why this dude decided to don Batman, and the charismatic performance by Bale, and creepiness from Wilkinson and Murphy, providing the film with just that right amount of evil. Gotham City was also wickedly designed, and the film’s subway conclusion was a breathtaking ride.

Movie Review: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

The most accurate way I can describe my feelings about Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is by gushing that it's just so dear. It's darling. It's funny, tender and charming. It's a Cinderella story for adults who want a movie that's not ridiculously cheesy or stupid. It's gloomy in spots but always quickly uplifted, either through the toe-tapping music of the 1930s or the silly wit of the writing.

I was introduced to Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) as she is fired from yet another governess position and shuffles her way to the agency that has found her each of her ill-fated jobs. When the stern agency woman refuses to find Miss Pettigrew more work, she grows desperate, having no money and no home. She swipes the business card of a client in need of a social secretary: the American cabaret singer Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams). She arrives at the sprawling London flat to Delysia frantically trying to get rid of one man before another man comes home. Immediately Miss Pettigrew proves herself a helpful ally, smoothly navigating Guinevere's potentially disastrous dealings with the several men in her life. In this way, the title of the film seems like it could be Miss Pettigrew Saves the Day, but things get a little bit more complex than just this.

In the arrangement the women swiftly fall into, everyone wins: Miss Pettigrew helps to sort out Delysia's complicated personal matters and gently shows her what's most important in life. Miss Pettigrew herself obtains both a sense of self-worth and a glimpse into the dashing, glamorous life of the wealthy. She is also introduced to a handsome lingerie-maker her own age who, despite the nubile young women around him, finds himself drawn to Miss Pettigrew's maturity and honest nature.

The pairing of the two women, however, is what makes this film pure satisfaction to watch. The humble, gentle Miss Pettigrew on her own might be a somewhat one-note character without the wriggly, shimmery Delysia Lafosse. Yet, lest Delysia's silliness get to be a bit too much, there are many sobering references to the imminent war, often revealing the great divide between Guinevere and Delysia's generations. Guinevere wearily recalls the previous war while Delysia is distracted by mannequins wearing gas masks in a store window — not because of the gas masks, mind you, but the "hideous" cap sleeves on the mannequins' dresses.

The entirety of the action takes place in one day, which makes for one incredibly eventful 24-hour span. But such is life with Delysia Lafosse, played with that wide-eyed beauty and energy that I'm starting to expect from Amy Adams. I predict some people will grow tired of Adams' endless chattiness and blithe innocence but I'm perfectly happy to sit back and watch her light up the screen with her sparkling presence. She is a natural-born entertainer, of the old-fashioned, all-smiles, song-and-dance variety. In this way, she slips easily into the role of an aspiring actress in 1939, and I willingly give her all my attention.

There's a lot going on in this film. Lessons on true love and compromising one dream to attain another. The theme that a woman can do anything if she puts her mind to it. The incredibly refreshing message that love knows no age. The whole, "be yourself and love will find you" thing. And yet it never feels overwrought or cheese-filled. It may be a lot at once, but I loved it all.

DVD Review: Into the Wild

Here is a movie that, for all intents and purposes, is a good film. It is a travelogue that shows some of the most picturesque landscape that America has to offer. However, despite all that it offers visually, it's compromised in the romanticized view of its central character by writer/director Sean Penn.

Into the Wild chronicles the journey taken by Christopher McCandless. He was a young man who, upon graduating from Emory College in 1990, rebelled against his family and what he felt was a capitalist, materialistic society. He chose to remove himself from society, lest he be caught up in it and have his life spoiled by it. To that end, he donates his life savings to charity, drives his car as far west as it will go, burns his money and identification, and heads off into the wilderness.

Along the way, with Alaska as his goal, there is a succession of individuals who float in and out of his life, each leaving an indelible mark on the young man. Among them are a couple of hippies living life out of an RV (Catherine Keener, Brian Dierker), a wheat farmer (Vince Vaughn), a couple of Danish vacationers, a teenage singer (Kristen Stewart), and a kindly old man (Hal Holbrook).

The most notable is Hal Holbrook's Ron Franz, who stands out the most. The elderly war vet sees something in the young man. During the short time they spend together he comes to look on McCandless as the son he never had. It is the most emotionally touching and involving sequence of the film. Holbrook truly left a mark on the journey.

To its credit, the film is very well made. It takes its time to get from point A to point B. It has a nice, meandering pace that allowed me to linger on some of the beauty that the country has to offer. It is different than your standard Hollywood fare, which is always about how fast we can get to the next plot point or set piece.

The performances are also quite good. Emile Hirsch does a good job of portraying the idealistic young man. I do not, exactly, buy him as the saintly, driven person portrayed here. I get the feeling that Penn has, at least slightly, idealized him and what he believes he stood for. However, that is to take nothing away from what Hirsch was able to do. As for the supporting roles, I already mentioned Hal Holbrook's impact, but he is not the only one to have a moment of clarity. Brian Dierker as the hippie Rainey has considerable presence as one of McCandless' benefactors. Even Vince Vaughn has a memorable turn as a happy-go-lucky man who takes a liking to the traveler.

Eddie Vedder's collaborations provide some good music, athough, it is not the same Vedder I remember from the early Pearl Jam days. The music is quite fitting to the tone and pace of the film.

For all the good that Into the Wild has to offer, I am sure you are wondering why I don't like it. Well, it has to do with Christopher McCandless himself. I mean no disrespect for the dead. I am sorry about what happened to him, but the thing of it is that it did not have to happen. I get the feeling that his desire to flee materialistic society and rebel against his family were just a smokescreen covering up some mental problems. There are other ways to rebel rather than heading off, unprepared (no matter how many books he had, he was not prepared for what was to come), into the wilds of the north.

I have to believe that there was a better way for him to deal with his society issues, with his father problems, and whatever else he felt, or thinks he felt, about society. Instead, he chose a rather selfish route that eventually led to his death and irreparable pain for his family. I liken him to Timothy Treadwell, another man who was not prepared for what he was getting himself into, likely suffered from mental problems, and eventually paid for his actions with his life.

Bottom line. It is a nicely crafted film, however it seeks to make a statement about society that rings hollow and canonizes a young man who went about his revolution the wrong way. Do I have the answer? No. He would probably see me as part of the "problem." Be that as it may, he went off into the wild, ill prepared to handle what was there and eventually paid the ultimate price.

DVD Review: the Illusionist

It’s the early 1900s in Vienna, Austria, following the adventures of one Eisenheim, the illusionist, as he dazzles the everyday folk and the royals with his trickery on stage. That is, until he decides to challenge the Prince with his puzzles, and ends up be smitten by his lover. What follows are more tricks, deceptions and plenty of slight of hand, as the illusionist is backed into a corner and I'm left wondering what is real and what is not.

A gorgeous-looking movie featuring a fascinating lead character who likes to pull the wool over people’s eyes by amazing them with feats of magic, disappearance, guesswork and yes, you guessed it…illusions. I guess you could call this guy the David Copperfield or David Blaine of his day, only unlike Blane, he actually performs magic and doesn’t just cage himself in ice for a few days and call it magic.

The actor portraying the man of which I speak is Edward Norton, back in top form on the big screen, after seemingly disappearing from the face of the planet himself over the past few years. But he’s back with a vengeance here, and a monster goatee to boot. Paul Giamatti also plays his conflicted character to a tee, finally discarding his knack for playing lovable schlubs and showing the world why he’s been certified as one of our best character actors. In third spot comes Jessica Biel, who despite my own personal reservations, actually held her own against the two more established thespians, and did so without any gratuitous boob or ass shots (although she definitely allowed her lips to do the acting in a couple of sequences).

But the film wasn’t entertaining all the way through simply because of its characters alone, it also featured a highly authentic and moody look and feel, which along with some darkened corners on the film reel itself, provided the movie with just the right amount of mystery required. I love movies like this because they keep me guessing, and nowadays in Hollywood, the only thing left to answer is how many sequels a successful generic film will require in order for the studio to stop their uninspired movie-making trend (there’s no correct answer to this query as of yet).

Thankfully, writer/director Neil Burger has other plans as he has created here, a wonderful cinematic experience filled with lush visuals, eye-catching costumes, authentic locales, a believable and romantic love-story, as well as plenty of magic and suspense for anyone who appreciates that sort of thing. I didn't guess what the film’s final “illusion” was, but the movie still held me within its grasp, if only because I was consistently wondering from where the next twist would come.

Oh yeah, and I almost forgot about the always-entertaining Rufus Sewell, who sneered his way through yet another palpable nasty-man role. The film did surprise me with a couple of small turns in the end, and I most certainly appreciated its final “reveal”, if only because it helped clear it all up in my mind, and left me with a happy feeling in my heart.

I dug it all, and even though I liked its first hour a little more than its second half, the film on the whole was a wonderful achievement in many respects and should be viewed by anyone searching for an old school whodunit sprinkled with love, magic and the massive Norton goatee!

Movie Review: Mamma Mia! Hard to Imagine a Better Party

If there were a family get-together with all the slick, recent Broadway-to-film productions, like Hairspray and Dreamgirls, Mamma Mia! would be the drunk older aunt whose clothing doesn't really match and who says all the wrong things but you love her and her kooky, off-kilter self anyway. The movie is, like that aunt, all over the place: Only a third of the cast can actually sing, the plot is thin, and the characters are — with the exception of a few moments — as one-dimensional as it gets. Oh, and there are hardly three minutes between one ABBA cover and the next.

In place of the large-scale choreographed dance productions of other musicals, Mamma Mia! chooses to go heavy on stuff like arms waving in the air, frolicking through streets, and bed bouncing. It has all the girlish exuberance of a slumber party, the sweaty debauchery of a bachelorette party, and the spectacle of a big fat Greek wedding. The movie — and all the actors in it — so unabashedly embrace a spirit of innocence and joy that it's hard to imagine a more perfect form of escapism.

Despite filming in a stunning sun-drenched location, the cast is the real reason this summer movie shimmers.

Mamma Mia! is a party from start to finish. It takes place within a short period of time on a small Greek island where 20-year-old Sophie (played by one of the cast members who can really sing, Amanda Seyfried) is about to get married, though her hippie mother, Donna (Meryl Streep), is concerned she might be too young. The only thing Sophie's missing to complete her perfect day is that she wants her father to give her away — but she's not sure who her father is.

After busting into Donna's diary, Sophie discovers that there are three men who could be her dad, and without telling anyone she invites all three to the wedding. And they all show up. . . for some reason. Meanwhile, Donna's randy old girlfriends have also descended onto the island for the wedding and are there by her side when the three men from her past suddenly appear.

Now, I understand that for some of you, this silly plot plus nonstop ABBA sounds about as fun as pouring gasoline in your eyes and if that's the case, this movie isn't for you. I don't think the filmmakers are trying to convert anyone here. No, this movie was made for the initiated. For those folks (like me) who wish real life were peppered with spontaneous bursts of song and dance, and whose idea of a good time might include getting sauced with Christine Baranski and Meryl Streep.

And basically that might be what's at the heart of this movie: wanting to hang out and have a goofy good time with these beloved actors. So when Collin Firth is suddenly in a ridiculous, gaudy outfit, singing a cheeseball ABBA song it made me buckle over in laughter, the same way it would if I saw my own dad or uncle doing it. They know it's kind of a joke, but they seem happy to be the punchline, and it's so endearing to see all these great performances come out of actors who have tossed out their vanity in the name of fun.

DVD Review: I Am Legend

I Am Legend is not a terrible movie. It's simply disappointing to see something that could have been great — and that starts out with some excellent things going for it — whimper out to nothing in the end. Based on Richard Matheson's 1954 sci-fi novel, this story has been adapted for film before (Last Man on Earth, Omega Man), with moderate success. Why a modern-day adaptation was supposed to work best is unclear (maybe the use of CGI was alluring?). Will Smith has a challenging task, acting almost entirely alone for the better part of the film, and he's surprisingly good at it. But his fine performance becomes the film's one redeeming quality, and one is not enough.

The movie starts out with Smith's character, Robert Neville, roaring around Manhattan in a sweet car, hunting for food. The visual construction of a barren, silent New York City is this film's strength. It's eerie to see "the city that never sleeps" half-crumbled, overgrown with weeds and devoid of human life. We discover that three years earlier, a virus took hold of the city and wiped out the entire city's population (and then the world's population) — with the exception of a few immune people, like Robert, and a group of infecteds who turned into "the night seekers."

These former humans are now vampireish, zombielike monsters who can't stand the light and prowl around at night looking to destroy/infect any survivors. Robert, a scientist, diligently works to find a cure for the virus using his blood, though capturing an infected without being attacked himself proves challenging. Thus, it turns into a race against time: Robert trying to figure out a cure before any of the night-seekers destroy him.

The science-fiction aspects of the film are often intriguing — and far and away more interesting than the disgusting animated night-seekers who alternate between gratingly annoying and laughably ridiculous. The vicious, hairless, screeching monsters resemble larger and stronger versions of Gollum from Lord of the Rings but are emptier and more pointless versions of Gollum. As the film continues, there are more and more jump-scares, featuring a quiet scene jarringly interrupted by a sudden noise (usually the outrageously obnoxious monster screaming sound), a tactic that grows incredibly tiresome.

Soon the struggle becomes that of Robert trying to stay alive against an army of night seekers — which, while more action-packed, is a far less compelling storyline than seeing Robert figure out a cure. Thus, there are ways that this movie could have been cooler and more interesting, but the cheap scares and goofy CGI monsters bring it down many notches from what it might have been.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight - Tense, Sad and Unsettling - One of the Best Movies I Have Seen In Years

"This town deserves a better class of criminal." – The Joker

Indeed. And by extension, audiences deserve a better class of villain. In The Dark Knight, I get one. Director Christopher Nolan seems to have a keen understanding that I want my heroes to be badass — but I want my villains to be way badder. The movie tells a story about Batman, sure, but really, this is The Joker's tale. Even when it's Batman's story. . . The Joker owns it.

The Dark Knight is unlike almost any other superhero movie that came before it. It's insanely dark, it's melancholy, it didn't leave me with a great sense of peace. But the thing is, I can handle it. I think this is Nolan giving audiences some credit. And every superhero tale has these themes of good vs. evil, order vs. chaos, hero vs. villain. It's just that this one doesn't sugarcoat these things at all. And why should they be sugarcoated? The superhero's tale is actually the perfect vehicle for exploring these things, and explore them I do. Nolan brings an affecting, disturbingly dark tale, and one that could easily be seen as an allegory for the goings-on of today's world (terrorism vs. peace, cowardice vs. heroism, etc.).

Christian Bale reprises his role as the manly, gravel-voiced Batman by night and the wealthy Bruce Wayne by day. Michael Caine again dryly charms his way through the role of Bruce's helpful butler Alfred, and Gary Oldman is again the likable Commissioner Gordon. Maggie Gyllenhaal gives Rachel Dawes, Bruce's love interest and Gotham City's District Attorney, some much-needed depth and chutzpah. In this installment, there's an evil mastermind on the loose, terrorizing Gotham, and his name is The Joker. As The Joker continues to taunt Batman, trying to get him to break his noble moral code of beating the bad guys without actually harming anyone, the body count rises and Joker gets closer and closer to forcing the citizens of Gotham City to turn on each other. He is the greatest fearmonger of all time.

Heath Ledger is thoroughly mesmerizing as Joker. Should I be talking Oscars? Absolutely. I haven't seen a performance so impeccably realized, so desperately truthful in a long, long time. However, another impressive performance comes from Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, Gotham's great white hope for a safer, Joker-less future. His mixture of political-minded bravado and inner turmoil makes for a far more layered character than one might expect.

In perhaps my favorite scene — one that is so exciting, and yet so agonizing — I got both of these tortured souls, The Joker and Harvey Dent, alone together. The outcome of this scene is a profound sense of despair because in it I witnessed how quickly people can shift from good to evil, and how easy and nonsensical violence is. On Joker's part, there is no real reasoning behind his cruel madness, and I'm reminded that sometimes evil simply exists for no good reason. It taps into a very real, basic and horrible fear: that in this world where terrorism could lurk anywhere, where chaos and war and murder exist, we struggle continuously to figure out "why?" The Joker represents our most feared response to that question: There is no reason.

Then again, here is another truth: Sometimes people choose good over evil, no matter what. Some will surprise you with their unselfishness. There is a lot of bleakness in this film, but there is also hope.

Of course, compounding the darkness of the movie is the maddening real-life tragedy that is forever intertwined with it. An unsettling side effect of Ledger's death is that I will never see the man behind the garish, horrifying makeup. And in this sense, the Joker is forever, hauntingly alive. There’s no Heath Ledger to do the late-night TV show circuit or the red carpet interviews. He's not coming out from behind the screen to reassure us, "No, no, it's all an act. Here I am, just a guy, just an actor, see?" Logically, I understand that the Joker doesn't exist. And yet. . . Ledger's absence causes the tiniest of doubts in the back of my mind, the part that's still on board for superhero movies. With no one telling me otherwise, I'm left with the cryptic suggestion that the Joker might very well be. . . real.

This is partly what has left me with such a sense of uneasiness since watching the movie, and one of the things that is keeping The Dark Knight at the forefront of my mind. But even beyond that, the film is so well-written, thrillingly suspenseful, action-packed and brilliantly acted. It's all the things I want in a superhero movie — along with a whole bunch of dark, thorny morality issues tossed in.

All told: It. Is. Amazing.

DVD Review: Howl's Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle is a charming, odd movie that tilts between fantastical beauty and the irrationalities of war. Howl (voiced by Christian Bale) is a wizard who's had his heart stolen by a demon. His efforts to recover himself include assembling a ragtag "family" to live with him in his moving castle. These include a friendly fire demon named Calcifer (jokey Billy Crystal: "He burns me up!") and young apprentice Markl.

The newest member is Sophie, a 90-year-old housekeeper who's really an 18-year-old hat-maker, cursed by the large and lumpy Witch of the Waste (Lauren Bacall) so she cannot tell anyone that she's been transformed. Sophie has been led to the castle by a hopping, turnip-headed scarecrow. And here she finds not only acceptance, but also a crew in need of a mother.

While keeping track of who's cursed whom and who is disguised can be confusing, the movie -- based on a book by Diana Wynee Jones -- pits two major forces against one another: the war-making king, aided by royal sorceress Madame Suliman (Blythe Danner), and the well-meaning but childishly petulant Howl. Sophie helps to sort out his bad behavior, in part by forgiving and looking after everyone, including the conniving Witch of the Waste. Sophie's wisdom is a function of her kindness, but her unbidden transformation is also unnerving.

Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki's animation style is famously delicate and inventive. All in all, it was an enjoyable movie and it was great to have the feeling that magic still does exist somewhere out there.

DVd Review: Hoodwinked

We all know the story of Little Red Riding Hood, right? But with director Cory Edwards at the helm of this fairy tale, things get changed …just a wee bit.

Little Red (voiced by Anne Hathaway) wants out of the forest. She's not happy living in such a constrained society. She dreams of flying over the mountains and seeing what lay beyond. But bad things are afoot in the forest. Food establishments are closing due to a rash of recipe thefts. Little Red has to protect her and Granny's recipe book before it disappears as well. But who's behind these thefts? And for what reason?

When Little Red arrives at Granny's house, the typical meeting with The Wolf occurs …sort of. Granny (voiced by Glenn Close) is tied up in the closet (or is she?) The Wolf asks Little Red lots of probing questions about her basket. And as Little Red discovers that The Wolf is not Granny, The Woodsman comes bashing through a window wielding his axe and acting murderous. But is he?

The police are called in to investigate this "domestic disturbance" and as Detective Nicky Flippers (voiced by David Ogden Stiers) soon discovers, many more strange things are happening than meets the eye. Granny has a triple-G tattoo on her neck and loves extreme sports (paying homage to XXX with Vin Diesel). The Wolf (voiced by Patrick Warburton) is actually a reporter researching the recent recipe thefts and feels that Granny and Little Red are at the center of it. The Woodsman (voiced by James Belushi) is just a Schnitzel-On-A-Stick salesman turned actor trying to find his inner Woodsman. And Little Red is simply a delivery girl who's disenchanted with the world around her.

Borrowing from just about every action film out there, Hoodwinked really works. Everything from The Matrix to City Slickers is referenced …and it's done very well. The animation seems nearly old-fashioned and out-of-date, which actually adds a quaint quality to the film; it's not trying too hard to be something it isn't. It isn't Finding Nemo or Shrek. It couldn't be with a budget only a fraction of what those two animation goliaths cost. This is an independent film (gotta love 'em!), so money is stretched thin.

And here's the thing, this movie is good. It's not perfect by any means, but it's fun, light, engaging, voiced well, animated fine, and uproariously entertaining. I especially enjoyed Twitchy the speed-talking squirrel whose brush with caffeine addiction makes for some of the funnier moments. I also liked Japeth the singing Goat, who takes a ride with Little Red through a mine that looks suspiciously like the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction at Disneyland. Loved it!

And who is the recipe thief, you may be asking. Well that's something you'll have to find out for yourself …and it's worth it.