Secret Agent Gal Movie Reviews

The Gloucester 18: teen moms choose rough road - 4 stars

 
 

The Gloucester 18 reveals the true story of teens who got pregnant during the 2007-08 school year at Gloucester High School in Massachusetts. Controversy erupted amidst rumors of a “pregnancy pact.” This documentary tells the girls’ less sensational, but still troubling story.

Director John Michael Williams’ film has no narration or overt editorializing. Aside from brief tirades by Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly and a local radio host, the tone is intent and balanced. This is a documentary that explores a hot-button issue with objectivity and genuine concern.

The Gloucester 18 debunks the myth of a “pregnancy pact” which was widely reported by national and international news programs. The pact story was also exploited in a made-for-television film that upset many Gloucester residents.

Most of these girls did not know each other when they became pregnant, we are told. Some became friends afterwards and shared mutual support, according to nurse practitioner Kim Daley.

New moms and dads, grandparents, counselors and health providers speak in a series of interviews. By skillfully excerpting interviews around an issues-based narrative, Williams creates a sense of urgency.

Wisely, the director also visits the cities of Lowell and Springfield. Teen pregnancy rates were higher there in 2009. The film asserts that this is not just Gloucester’s issue, but a continuing national dilemma.

Teen moms interviewed are upbeat at first. Some are quiet. One girl is coached by her mom on how to answer the interviewer. Eventually, they share mixed feelings and regrets.  

Seventeen-year-old Leslie from Lowell got pregnant at age 15. She never went to high school. “It’s hard,” she says, smiling through her tears. “It’s not fun changing diapers, waking up.” Her son’s father abandoned them. Leslie braids hair to pay for diapers.

“It’s the new thing” says Leslie of her friends in Lowell. “Everyone’s havin’ kids.” Young moms are isolated from the teen community as they are required to stay at home to care for their babies, says Dr. Brian Orr.

High school counselors and health providers speak out. “I needed somebody to love me unconditionally, and someone who I could love unconditionally,” pregnant teens often tell them.

Several counselors say they were required to follow an “abstinence only” model. They were not allowed to prescribe contraceptives to high school students. Some teens used birth control from their own physicians, and became pregnant anyway.

The Gloucester teens beam before the camera. It is their moment. They hold their babies. It’s rough but they get by, they say. Motherhood gives their lives meaning and purpose. It’s their business, a friend of one mom says. The teens are just starting their families sooner than most.

Sarah smiles radiantly, holding her second baby. She lives in a cooperative household with her children’s father and his brother’s family. Another girl works part-time at Dunkin’ Donuts. A teen father works in a bait yard to support his new son.  

Two of the girls are second generation teen mothers. Another faces her family’s legacy of domestic violence. Some new moms finish high school. Others drop out.

Williams intersperses frames of smiling girls with sobering statistics. As of 2009, 750,000 teenage girls become pregnant in the United States every year. Teenage pregnancy costs the U.S. more than $9.1 billion a year. The U.S. has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy of any developed country.

The Gloucester 18 covers a controversial issue with unique objectivity and insight. It avoids political and religious debate. “Doing the right thing” and making the best of difficulties is a common theme.

The fate of several teens and their babies is revealed. Some girls live with their parents after giving birth, grateful for the back-up child care. One teen without family support seeks public assistance. Several babies suffer health problems.

Tiny babies nestle in their mothers’ arms as the camera rolls. Concern for their well-being and future drives this powerful human interest film.

If you like The Gloucester 18, you might enjoy:  Precious; Mother and Child.

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The Gloucester 18    2009  /  NR  /  1 hour, 7 min

Cast Overview:  Dr. Brian Orr, Kim Daley, Ray Lamont, Gail McCarthy

Director:  John Michael Williams

Genre:  Documentary

Moneyball: game changer Brad Pitt hits home run - 5 stars

 

Brad Pitt brings Billy Beane to life in the exciting drama Moneyball. Not just for baseball fans, the film tells a true sports rebel story. Beane, the Oakland Athletics general manager, changes the sport and recruits a winning team on a tiny budget.

Bennett Miller (Capote, Doubt) directs with a fantastic script from Oscar winners Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List) and Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network).

After 11 losses, the team sets a major league record during the 2002 season. Actual game footage from the A’s 20-game win streak adds excitement. Moneyball sweeps you up with an inside look at managing a ball team. I didn’t glance at my watch for over two hours.

Teamwork is built on and off the field. Business deals are wrangled. Underdogs are valued and given a new start. Players give their best – and sometimes not.

Beane shocks back room baseball elders and know-it-all sports commentators by reinventing baseball. His street smarts and out-of-the-box thinking will thrill you. On a personal note, he’s a divorced dad who wants to be his daughter’s hero.

All these themes center around the GM as heroic everyman. Beane recognizes whiz kid Peter Brand (Jonah Hill, perfect here) instantly, enticing him to become his right hand man. It’s a bold decision that will change everything.

Beane must rebel by trying a new approach. His best players get poached by the big money teams all the time. “Adapt or die” becomes his motto.

With the help of the Yale-trained economist, Beane upsets multi-million dollar teams by using sabermetrics in baseball. Brand tells him, “You aren’t trying to buy players. You want to buy wins.”

Brand loves baseball as much as he loves numbers. He identifies standout players based on their runs and on how they fit into an equation. Talent isn’t enough. The players must perform in ways that make major league success likely.

Beane forges ahead with courage and gut instinct. The film is based on the ground-breaking book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis.

A former baseball prodigy, Beane decided to become a professional talent scout. He always wondered why he didn’t have more success in the majors. With sabermetrics, he understands why.

Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffmann is convincing in his brief but weighty role. Ornery Art Howe, the Oakland A’s coach, doesn’t trust Beane or his new boy wonder one whit. Other great performances include Kerris Dorsey as Beane’s daughter (impressive singing and guitar strumming here), and Robin Wright as Billy’s ex-wife.

 
 

There’s a turning point where Beane trades several players to overcome a plateau. Brand advises against this, but the GM takes charge. Pitt excels in a very funny scene where he and Brand juggle calls from general managers calling back.

This is one of Pitt’s best performances. Billy Beane is as gutsy and street smart as Tyler Durden in Fight Club, Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds, and Mr. O’Brien in The Tree of Life. Pitt has worked with directing legends like David Fincher, Quentin Tarantino and Terrence Malick.

Pitt also produced Moneyball. The star often produces his own movies. He’s backed spiritual genre greats such as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Eat Pray Love. Lending his sense of fun and box office appeal to B movies, he played Rusty Ryan in Ocean’s Eleven and John Smith in Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Academy Awards are likely because Moneyball transcends the screen. It’s a movie for our time where humanity triumphs over big money. It speaks to our fascination with science, but stays grounded in heart and soul.

More than anything, Beane wants to change an unfair game. He builds success with an unlikely group of misfits. Even when you know how this story ends, his victory is no less impressive and sweet.

If you like Moneyball, you might enjoy:  The Blind Side; Hoosiers; Win Win.

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Moneyball     2011  /  PG-12  /  2 hours, 13 mins

Cast Overview:  Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, Chris Pratt, Stephen Bishop, Reed Thompson

Director:  Bennett Miller

Genre:  Drama, Biopic, Drama Based on the Book

 

 

50/50: Gordon-Levitt fights Big C in Oscar contender - 4.5 stars

 

The smart, uplifting cancer dramedy 50/50 stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Adam Lerner, a 27-year-old with spinal schwannoma. Comedy writer Will Reiser wrote the outstanding screenplay based on his own diagnosis and struggle with the Big C.

In Oscar-worthy fashion, 50/50 rises to the top of its genre. Depression and anger are dealt with matter-of-factly, but the film never becomes sappy or a prolonged melodrama. The movie is just long enough at 100 minutes. Jonathan Levine directs with deft insight.

Gordon-Levitt plays a soft-spoken Seattle radio producer who lives carefully. Adam jogs. His new girlfriend Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard) is just moving in. Adam doesn’t even have a driver’s license because he fears traffic accidents, “the fifth leading cause of death.”

Gordon-Levitt is wonderful throughout, even shaving his head for real on screen. This measured performance contrasts sharply with his wild, deranged character in Hesher.

Friendship is the healer. Adam’s best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen, excellent as a loyal, rollicking dude) helps him cope and make life changes. Rogen, who also produces here, infuses humor into the story seamlessly, even during Adam’s worst moments.

Adam meets two new friends at chemotherapy, Alan (Philip Baker Hall) and Mitch (Matt Frewer). The trio enjoy pot-filled macaroons courtesy of Mitch’s wife.

 

Rachael vows to stand by Adam when he breaks the news, but won’t go with him to weekly chemotherapy at the hospital. Dallas Howard sensitively portrays a flawed girlfriend with cool realism. Rachael simply can’t muster the strength to face Adam’s illness.

Adam goes through the phases of healing with the help of his doctoral student-therapist Katherine (Anna Kendrick of Up in the Air, sincere and memorable). Mostly Adam compartmentalizes rage and grief as he watches TV, not even calling back his smother-love mom (Anjelica Huston).

Kyle insists that Adam’s odds are not that bad. He urges his pal to keep seeking the right girl. Even walking Adam’s plaintive pooch Skeletori becomes an opportunity to cruise. Adam isn’t that enthusiastic. “I look like Voldemort,” he quips.

Surgeons are portrayed spot on here, with robot-like Dr. Ross (Andrew Airlie) and a somewhat warmer female neurosurgeon Dr. Walderson (Donna Yamamoto).

Adam finally grows closer to his parents. In one of Gordon-Levitt’s best scenes, he bonds with his dad (Serge Houde) who’s suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Casting by Francine Maisler (also casting director for Moneyball and The Tree of Life) is superb. Michael Giacchino composed the fine score.

We all must face death, Adam tells Katherine. He confronts her, insisting that she drop the feel good talk. Hope isn’t sugar coated in 50/50’s great ending.

If you like 50/50, you might enjoy:  Happy; I Am; Love & Other Drugs.

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50/50     2011  /  R  /  1 hour, 40 min

Cast Overview:  Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston, Philip Baker Hall, Serge Houde

Director:  Jonathan Levine

Genre:  Dramedy, Bromance

 

Higher Ground sinks in Vera Farmiga's lukewarm drama - 3 stars

 
 
 
Vera Farmiga fans eager to see her directorial debut Higher Ground may be disappointed. Farmiga plays a religious fundamentalist who has a crisis of faith and leaves her husband, then hovers between fundamentalism and God.

Higher Ground tries to do too much. In exploring one woman’s faith, the screenplay dwells on her childhood, her family, and members of a congregation. A full half hour (about one-third of the movie) passes before we even see Farmiga.

Farmiga’s performance is remarkably wishy washy. She scarcely seems like the actor who played passionate Sophie in Never Forever, or earned an Oscar nomination as frequent flyer Alex in Up in the Air. Even Officer Colleen Goodwin in Source Code has more chutzpah than Corinne Walker.

Farmiga told The New York Times Magazine in 2006 that she was seeking good, strong roles. It’s disappointing that she doesn’t command this one.

Young Corinne (McKenzie Turner) half-heartedly attends Bible school. As a teen (Taissa Farmiga, the director’s sister) she’s smitten with her classmate Ethan (Boyd Holbrook), a rock singer. Soon she’s with child, and the two marry.

Nearly losing their baby daughter in a tour bus accident, the couple gives thanks to God. In 1979, adult Corinne and Ethan (Joshua Leonard) are baptized in a lake as they join an unspecified evangelical group.

Shying away from conflict, the director surveys too many cast members who, collectively, don’t make much of an impression. Great actors like John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone) are wasted here.

Compounding the problem is the washed out color palette. Like the drab house dresses that the womenfolk wear, this cinematic choice makes a dull story duller.

There’s a scene where Corinne’s best friend Annika (Dagmara Dominczyk in a rousing performance) sustains permanent damage after brain surgery. It’s an overt plot device that I found offensive, “divine punishment” for the sexy, outspoken Polish wife and mother.

A surreal, sensual scene between the two friends feels awkward and goes on too long. The film can’t decide whether Corinne’s crisis is more feminist or spiritual, and falters in both areas.

As Corinne receives the news about Annika at the hospital, her deer-in-the-headlights stare into the camera is worse than silly. It didn’t move me at all.

“You are worshipping at the altar of yourself,” a Bible-quoting shrink chides Corinne when she confesses her need for sexual satisfaction. Even here, Farmiga is tentative and unconvincing. The character’s quest to explore sex, literature and intelligent conversation is never fully realized. She just seems like a woman who got married too soon for the wrong reasons.

Corinne whines about “feeling nothing,” but never transcends that funk. After leaving her husband, she goes to a library to explore new thinking. She flirts with a literary Irish mailman (Sean Mahon), only to discover that he is married.

Corinne is most passionate when she’s speaking to the congregation. Women aren’t allowed to preach, as the pastor’s wife reminds her. No wonder Pastor Bill (Norbert Leo Butz) feels threatened. Corinne speaks honestly from her heart and experience. He hides behind preachy sermons.

Strangely, Corinne returns to the church after leaving Ethan. Now an outcast, she takes up the microphone and shares. Pastor Bill barely protests. Emotion stirs in Annika’s eyes, and sorrow fills Ethan. The others ignore her numbly. Sheep show more emotion than this.

Two revelatory moments barely register. While young Corinne lies impassive under Ethan, a big black pig looks on, his eyes filled with kindness and intelligence. Late in the film, Corinne gazes at crosses atop the church. A nearby dog approaches the edge of the woods, gazing back at her.

Nature here symbolizes the wilderness and mystery of following the Divine. Corinne stays tethered to what she knows, a belief in suffering and sacrifice. Higher Ground is based on This Dark World by Carolyn S. Briggs.

Directing a film is a great opportunity to explore human growth and drama writ large. Movie characters say and do things that many of us wouldn’t dare say or do. Like a lost soul, Higher Ground circles and loses its way.

If you like Higher Ground, you might enjoy:  Another Earth; Source Code; Up in the Air.

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Higher Ground     2011  /  R  /  1 hour, 49 min 

Cast Overview:  Vera Farmiga, Norbert Leo Butz, Dagmara Dominczyk, John Hawkes, Bill Irwin, Joshua Leonard, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Donna Murphy, Taissa Farmiga, Boyd Holbrook

Director:  Vera Farmiga

Genre:  Drama, Spirituality

 

 

Everything Strange and New: an ex-bachelor confesses - 5 stars

 

A family man endures a mid-life crisis in Everything Strange and New, Frazer Bradshaw’s drama that simmers beneath middle class life in North Oakland, California. The film was nominated for Best First Feature at the 2011 Spirit Awards. It's now streaming online.

Jerry McDaniel is Wayne, a husband and carpenter yearning for the carefree days before his two sons were born. Wayne and his homemaker wife Renee (Beth Lisick) enjoyed each other much more then. Wayne didn’t yet know that she had a mood disorder. Renee lashes out at him often, usually about money. He reminds her to take her meds.

Their mortgage is now higher than what their home is worth. Adulthood becomes a monotonous struggle. Yet when Wayne takes his family to a restaurant, or reads a bedtime story to the frolicking four- and five-year-olds who ignore him, he seems like the perfect dad.

Everything Strange and New shows house after house in a low income neighborhood along Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard. Wayne stands on a rooftop, looking out over other rooftops like Larry Gopnik in A Serious Man. For a brief moment, I feared that he would jump.

Set in a liberal, economically depressed area, the film is punctuated by sudden, exultant strains of a post-modern jig. Melancholy is lightened with daily routines. Kent Sparling wrote the outstanding score. Saxophonist Dan Plonsey performs.  

Where’s the excitement, the sense of new possibilities? Wayne goes out with his buddies for beers after work.

It’s “easy to forget” how much he loves his wife and sons, and how much they love him. Meanwhile he renovates a Victorian home for another unseen family. The camera lingers at a window. Outside is a tree. You can imagine how beautiful the space will become, and sense the memories it will hold.

Bradshaw finds hope and possibility in everyday images, startling you with the avant garde. When Wayne opens the front door one day, he hears Renee talking to the kids. Like a stranger, he stands and listens. The eerie, alien moment lengthens. Who are they? Who is he? He turns to leave.

 

Wayne tells his friends Manny (the late Luis Saguar) and Leo (Rigo Chacon Jr.) that he wants to study electrical engineering. “I think I missed my calling,” he says. “It’s not about being happy all the time,” Manny tells him. “It’s about being happy more than not.”

Each friend faces his own crisis. Wayne discovers Manny in his car getting a cocaine fix. Not long afterwards, Wayne is surprised when Leo comes on to him as they watch the game. Divorced father Leo says he’s not gay.

McDaniel’s heartfelt, quiet voice-overs reveal modern angst. Arms and legs swing from his tall, lithe frame. Playing the sad clown at a birthday party, he wears baggy overalls.

Bradshaw weaves experimental elements into the narrative in a natural, enigmatic way. Families pose for portraits. Traffic moves backwards. Wayne appears in his clown makeup, imagining what he would really like to be doing. The gently surreal, futuristic feeling.

McDaniel also played a clown in the video Sonata (2004). Lisick has directed, written and acted in several short films including Sinking State and Diving for Pears.

Bradshaw also served as cinematograper, writer and editor for this film.

If you like Everything Strange and New, you might enjoy:  A Serious Man; Barney’s Version.

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Everything Strange and New     2009  /  NR (language, sexual situations)  /  1 hour, 24 mins

Cast Overview:  Jerry McDaniel, Beth Lisick, Luis Saguar, Rigo Chacon Jr., Oliver McDaniel, Finnegan McDaniel

Director:  Frazer Bradshaw

Genre:  Drama, Indie

 

Our Idiot Brother: Paul Rudd loves mayhem in smart comedy 4/5 stars

 

Ned (Paul Rudd) tells the whole truth and nothing but the truth in Jesse Peretz’s sweet comedy Our Idiot Brother. Rudd’s good-hearted, biodynamic farmer is beset by bad luck in this warm, funny film.

Ned loves others to a fault. Is he really an idiot? Yes and no.

Rudd plays a genial hippie lacking in social judgment. He’s so naïve that he sells pot to a uniformed police officer at the Farmer’s Market one day.

After he is thrown out by his girlfriend Janet (Kathryn Hahn), Ned travels to Brooklyn to crash with each of his three sisters.

Elizabeth Banks (Avery Jessup in 30 Rock) plays Miranda, an ambitious reporter at Vanity Fair. Miranda insists that being an adult means lying and taking advantage of others. The innocent brother can’t relate.

 

Liz (Emily Mortimer) is a mousy, tired wife and mom. She’s unaware of the shenanigans of her film director husband Dylan (Steve Coogan). Ned puts two and two together and spills the beans.

Natalie (Zooey Deschanel) is a club performer who reaches a turning point. Natalie withholds information from her lover Cindy (pep-talking Rashida Jones), and this threatens their relationship. Meanwhile Cindy, who’s a lawyer, helps Ned with his legal problems.

Ned drives his sisters nuts by spilling their personal secrets. This turns their lives upside down. It’s not that he wants to hurt anyone. He just can’t conceive of a world where people hide things from one another.

 

Unfortunately, neither Peretz nor the script coax much depth from the sisters. Pushy Miranda, overwhelmed Liz and flighty Natalie remain one-dimensional.

Finally, Ned’s mom (Shirley Knight, wonderful here) is the one who opens her home to him unconditionally. Mournfully, he accepts.  

Janet’s breakup with Ned is tough love. Living a back-to-the-land lifestyle, she’s a sermonizing spitfire. Ned is heart-broken when she insists on keeping Willie Nelson, his golden retriever and best friend.

The born-again optimist is unable to match any cynical, mean vibes. Ned loses it during a game of charades with his disillusioned siblings. The scene shows how hard it is for him to be in the world.

Trying a new age solution, Ned meets a know-it-all teacher and passes out in a sweat lodge called “The Win Tent.” Although he often seems to fail, the idiot brother occasionally enchants those he meets.

Ned is happiest playing with his 7-year-old nephew River (Matthew Mindler). Liz and Dylan enroll River in dance classes, hell-bent on grooming him for admission to an elite school. What the boy really loves is learning Tae Kwon Do from his uncle and watching Pink Panther past his bed time.

Like Ed Helms in Cedar Rapids, Rudd gives a standout performance as an oddball character for our time. What would the world look like if more people were like Ned? As he shakes things up, lives are transformed and healed.  

Rudd’s raunchiest moment is when Ned tentatively accepts a three-way with an amorous couple. He can’t go through with it. British comedian Coogan is brilliant as Liz’s wayward hubby. His arse-backwards nude scene is terrific.

The smart, funny script was written by Evgenia Peretz (the director’s sister) and her partner Anthony Bregman. Do you like happy endings? Dog lovers will appreciate this silly but positive conclusion.

If you like Our Idiot Brother, you might enjoy: The Trip; Barney’s Version; Cedar Rapids.

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Our Idiot Brother     2011  /  R  /  1 hour, 30 min

Cast Overview:  Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer, Steve Coogan, Hugh Dancy, Kathryn Hahn, Rashida Jones, Shirley Knight, T.J. Miller, Matthew Mindler

Director: Jesse Peretz

Genre:  Comedy

 

 

Sarah's Key: Kristen Scott Thomas stars in Holocaust drama ****

 
 

An American journalist living in Paris (Kristen Scott Thomas) is obsessed with a Holocaust story. Sarah's Key is a thrilling search for truth about France’s role in the Holocaust seen through the eyes of 10-year-old Sarah (Melusine Mayance). The film is based on Tatiana de Rosnay’s novel.

French director Gilles Paquet-Brenner’s film exposes the Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup during World War II. Many moviegoers will learn about the incident for the first time here.

In the roundup, thousands of Jews living in Paris’ Marais neighborhood were forced into a sports stadium, torn away from family members, and shipped to concentration camps. Julia Jarmond (Thomas) convinces her editor to let her write a 10-page article documenting the 60^th anniversary of the roundup.

Two parallel stories unfold. Julia pursues leads and interviews witnesses. She discovers that she is personally connected to the Starzinski family, Polish Jews living in Paris during the German occupation.

 

Sarah Starzinski’s story is told in flashbacks. Police arrive one day. Sarah dashes to protect her young brother Michel. She locks him in a closet for safekeeping, sure that she will return soon. Days pass in the crowded stadium. Panic and disease spread. Desperate to return and rescue Michel, Sarah falls ill.

Under Nazi order, French police arrested 13,000 Jews in July 1942. The prisoners were forced into the Velodrome d’Hiver, an indoor bicycle racing track. With no access to running water or toilets, they slept in their seats or on concrete floors. Families were separated and herded into trains bound for French internment camps.

Thomas (The English Patient; I’ve Loved You So Long) and Mayance play off each other beautifully with moving character studies. Past and present feel immediate and urgent. Thomas is intent and driven as she speaks both French and American English. Her brilliance shines despite a script that often emphasizes the obvious. Mayance is a talent to watch, lively and convincing here.

Julia learns that Sarah escaped from the Beaune-la-Rolande camp in Loiret. She tracks down a farm couple (Niels Arestrup and Dominique Frot) who sheltered the girl from Nazi soldiers. The mystery of Sarah’s life deepens as Julia locates her surviving relatives, including William (Aidan Quinn).

Julia travels abroad to pursue the story. She argues with her French husband Bertrand (Frederic Pierrot) and reassures her teenage daughter Zoe (Karina Hin). In one of the film’s contrived moments, Julia learns that the Starzinski’s apartment was acquired by Bertrand’s family in 1942.

The director relates a powerful chapter of history. Tellingly, it is a French soldier who helps Sarah escape from the camp.

In real life (and beyond the scope of Sarah’s Key), other roundups followed. Prisoners were eventually deported to Auschwitz. In 1959, fire destroyed much of the Vel’ d’Hiver. Apartments and a Ministry of the Interior building stand on the site today.

Julia’s part was over-written and weighs down the narrative. Emphasis on Julia’s pregnancy and failing marriage is distracting. The epilogue feels too neat and becomes trite. Yet Sarah’s Key brings history to life with personal revelation. Paquet-Brenner has made a daring, important film.

If you like Sarah’s Key, you might enjoy:  Winter in Wartime; Of Gods and Men; The King’s Speech.

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Sarah’s Key     2010  /  PG-13  /  1 hour, 45 min

Cast Overview:  Kristin Scott Thomas, Melusine Mayance, Niels Arestrup, Frederic Pierrot, Michel Duchaussoy, Dominique Frot, Gisele Casadesus, Aidan Quinn

Director:  Gilles Paquet-Brenner

Genre:  Drama, History, Books on Film

Languages:  English, French and German with English subtitles

 

A Better Life ****1/2

 
 

A gang-bound son explores honor with his illegal dad in Chris Weitz’s drama A Better Life. In a rare drama told from the blue collar perspective, Demian Bichir is outstanding as Carlos Galindo, a Mexican illegal in East Los Angeles.

The best actors convey much with their eyes, facial expressions and movements. Bichir (Che; Weeds) paints desperation, patience, wisdom and confusion. From these contradictions emerges a decent and hard-working gardener who lives in the United States illegally. Frequent close-ups of Bichir propel the drama.

In his day-in-the-life existence, Carlos works long hours and sleeps on the couch. He shares a few minutes of quality time with his son Luis (Jose Julian). The man lives to work, scarcely realizing when it’s Saturday. Carlos wears the same jacket throughout the movie, but he is clean. Their meals aren’t homemade, but they are filling. Luis’ mother is gone, but it’s not until late in the film that her absence is explained.

Luis shows growing interest in the gang members he meets at school. His girlfriend Ruthie (Chelsea Rendon) is related to a few of them. Since his father has little money for Luis’ needs, the gangs’ wealth and social standing are enticing. An early death in the streets is sure to come with that wealth. Weitz portrays the gang members as human and even cautious about recruiting Luis.

Julian gives an excellent, understated performance, especially during a scene in a police station where his future seems inevitable. When Luis gets suspended it’s “no biggie,” he tells his father. The boy considers making a wrong choice for the right reasons just as his father did.  

Weitz shows an America of the affluent who are happy to look the other way and employ reasonably priced yard workers (who happen to be uninsured). Carlos and Luis seem invisible in society-at-large. In one scene Carlos rides home from work, surveying many cultures and ages mingling on the L.A. sidewalks. His sense of belonging and his isolation are palpable.

 
 

Contemporary American features often show immigrants in moral struggles.  Ben Kingsley gave a powerhouse performance as an Iranian suburbanite in House of Sand and Fog. In The Godfather, Part II, Robert De Niro plays Vito Corleone, a Sicilian immigrant in New York City’s Little Italy. Ramin Bahrani expertly explores moral complexity. In Man Push Cart, a former rock star from Pakistan becomes a coffee cart vendor in New York City. In Goodbye Solo, a Senegalese immigrant attempts to dissuade an old man intent on jumping to his death.

Prosperity drives these characters. Carlos’ turning point comes when his friend insists that he buy a truck which he cannot afford. Carlos doesn’t even have a driver’s license. A truck is a necessity though. Without it, he must wait for hours in a crowd to compete for day jobs. Carlos finally appeals to his sister, who raids her family’s savings on his promise to make good, succeed and repay her someday.

When the truck is stolen, honor and future are at stake. In one very uneasy scene, Carlos gazes mutely at a police officer, unable to ask for help. The emergency gives father and son a chance to bond. How Carlos pursues the thief demonstrates a gentle fairness. Gabriel Chavarria plays Ramon.

A Better Life is a pleasant surprise coming from Weitz, who is known for mediocre The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Weitz also directed About a Boy with his brother Paul.

The film’s predictable ending gives a sense of “huddled masses,” a seemingly endless stream of people who head to America to improve their chances and their children’s opportunities. Eric Eason wrote the script based on a story by Roger L. Simon.

The socio-political story is simplified here. Weitz sidesteps hot button issues including controversial state measures to punish Mexican illegals. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but Weitz could have reached for even more in this film. Certainly his cast was capable of handling it.

If you like A Better Life, you might enjoy:  Goodbye Solo; Man Push Cart; Welcome.

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A Better Life    2011  /  PG-13  /  1 hour, 38 min

Cast Overview:  Demian Bichir, Jose Julian, Dolores Heredia, Joaquin Cosio, Chelsea Rendon, Nancy Lenehan, Tim Griffin, Gabriel Chavarria

Director:  Chris Weitz

Genre:  Drama

 

Buck ***

 

The real Horse Whisperer recovers from an abusive childhood as he trains horses and their owners in the documentary Buck.

Buck Brannaman consulted on Robert Redford’s The Horse Whisperer (1998). Nicholas Evans’ 1995 novel of the same name is based on the sensitive, gifted horse trainer. Buck won the Audience Award at Sundance 2011.

An excerpt from Redford’s film is shown. Buck’s guidance was instrumental in helping to calm a jittery horse for an important scene. In that scene Grace (Scarlett Johansson), who lost part of her leg in an accident while riding her horse Pilgrim, approaches the traumatized animal. Pilgrim shudders and jolts. Gradually, he calms down and allows Grace to touch him.

Redford was impressed with the horse trainer’s politeness and humanity when they first met. Interviewed here, Redford calls Buck “no nonsense” and “authentic.” Nevertheless, Cindy Meehl’s documentary about this extraordinary individual falls flat.

Buck travels 40 weeks out of each year to give four-day horse clinics. He misses his wife and daughter, he says. Meanwhile he restores calmness and serenity to the horses. Buck is known for his keen insights into the animals.

Brannaman schools horse owners, advising them how to approach and treat the animals with respect. “There’s a difference between firm and hard,” he notes. His approach is “90 percent mental and 10 percent physical.” As a young man, Buck attended a clinic given by Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt. The two were promoting a gentle approach called “natural horsemanship.” Buck had found his calling.

Yet this movie never captures a warm connection between Brannaman and the horses he trains. Where is the magic? First-time director Meehl is so intent on covering the breadth and scope of Buck’s work that she neglects its all-important depth.

Buck appears at event after event. He rides a jittery horse. The horse quiets and trots obediently. Owners comment on the miraculous transformations. They praise Buck’s special gift. What we don’t learn: Who are these horses? What are their stories? How does Buck calm them? What happens after they return home? Have they truly healed?

Focusing on Brannaman and paying scant attention to horses is a curious misstep. The creatures of great dignity, power and freedom are given only cursory treatment. For example, when Buck and his daughter compete in a lasso competition, their horses perform perfectly but look unhappy.

Had Meehl highlighted and developed several encounters between Buck and the horses, this film would truly satisfy. There’s a heartfelt connection between animals and people in movies like Born to be Wild and Water for Elephants. That connection is missing here.

 

Only at the end of Buck is one horse featured. Brain-damaged at birth and raised incorrectly, he has become violent. The horse maims a rider on screen. He has become “a predator,” Buck warns. Finally the owner decides to put him down.

Buck’s painful early years are slowly revealed. At age three, Buckshot (originally named Dan) began performing rope tricks with his older brother Smokie (Bill) under the management of their father Ace. The youngest stars on the circuit, the boys often performed blindfolded. They became famous, appearing in a Sugar Pops commercial.

The two were driven hard and often whipped by their alcoholic dad. Their mother had passed away. One day a coach noticed the bruising. The boys were removed from their home and adopted by a loving couple, the Shirleys. Brannaman still visits with his adoptive mother to this day.

Many horse lovers will enjoy this film, while others will yearn for more. Buck tells the story of a quiet, gentle man, but doesn’t reveal too much. Buck’s brother never appears in the film. His absence is not explained.

If you like Buck, you might enjoy:  Born to be Wild; Water for Elephants; Secretariat.

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Buck    2011  /  PG  /  1 hour, 28 min

Cast Overview:  Buck Brannaman, Robert Redford

Director:  Cindy Meehl

Genre:  Documentary, Animals

 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 *****

 

Harry Potter draws on personal power, courage and love in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2. Action, adventure and fantasy triumph in the epic finale based on J. K. Rowling’s novels. Harry proves his manhood amidst pain and loss, splendor and mystery.

Harry discovers a terrifying secret about his connection to Lord Voldemort, the most evil and powerful wizard of all. Dangerous adventures await him, and the stakes have never been higher.

The hero uses his personal power with wisdom and heart. Beyond spells, potions and wand skills, Harry and his friends have learned to use their wizardry for good. Here he shows mercy to those who have hurt him.

Harry’s homecoming at the Hogwarts School reveals that he is an inspiration for a new generation of wizards. Harry and friends have become way showers both on and off screen for millions. The films are part of a pop phenomenon and stunning commercial success based on character and bravery.

 
 

Brilliant! Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) first appeared together in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001). In HP7, Part 2 Radcliffe gives a solid performance as mayhem unfolds. Grint and Watson reveal deeper dimensions within Ron and Hermione.

Chris Columbus directed the first two movies in the series with a tenderness that honored childhood. Now director David Yates integrates grim realities and dangers into many dark scenes. The frontier between life and death is crossed again and again. Steve Kloves wrote most of the screenplays, including this one.

Awesome British talents help make the Harry Potter films rich and memorable, ensuring their place in movie history. Ralph Fiennes plays fearsome, evil Lord Voldemort. Alan Rickman is never better as enigmatic Professor Severus Snape. Professor Albus Dumbledore is resurrected by Michael Gambon, while his brother Aberforth is played by Ciaran Hinds. Helena Bonham Carter lends cackling menace to Bellatrix Lestrange. Maggie Smith saves the day as Professor Minerva McGonagall. John Hurt plays Ollivander. Evanna Lynch returns as Luna Lovegood. Tom Felton portrays dark mischief as Draco Malfoy. The impressive list goes on.

 

Powerful cinematography by Eduardo Serra, magnificent production design by Stuart Craig, Alexandre Desplat’s original music, and many visual effects, costume and makeup artists enhance the glory of this finale.

Scenes from past Harry Potter films add grace and power to this ultimate chapter. Life. Death. Love. Family. Immortality. These characters share a history together, and so do we.

Radcliffe will star in the horror thriller The Woman in Black (2012). Grint will star in another horror thriller Cross Country (2011), and next year in the dramas Wartime Wanderers and Comrade. Watson will star in the BBC drama My Week with Marilyn (2011) and a romantic drama, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012).

If you like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, you might enjoy: Avatar; X-Men: First Class; Super 8.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2    2011  /  PG-13  /  2 hours, 10 min

Cast Overview:  Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Tom Felton, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Ciaran Hinds, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent, Emma Thompson, Jason Isaacs, Matthew Lewis, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, David Thewlis, Julie Walters, Bonnie Wright, David Bradley, Warwick Davis, Tom Felton, Gemma Jones, Dave Legeno, Miriam Margolyes, Helen McCrory, Nick Moran, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Clemence Poesy, Timothy Spall, Natalia Tena, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Mark Williams

Director:  David Yates

Genre:  Fantasy, Adventure