Secret Agent Gal Movie Reviews

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

 

 

How to Start Your Own Country - 5 stars

 

Why not start your own micronation? Hundreds around the world have. Jody Shapiro visits a half dozen of the better known tiny nations in his comical documentary How to Start Your Own Country.

The Canadian filmmaker tickles and informs us with notions of country, patriotism and self-empowerment. Diplomats and United Nations officials share their views in this imaginative jaunt around the globe.

There are 192 member countries of the U.N. A few – Israel, Liechtenstein, Kosovo and Bosnia – asserted nationhood despite international disapproval. While new nations seek international recognition, “the U.N. is a country club,” says William Worster, a lecturer at The Hague University.

Shapiro follows the self-styled leaders with acceptance, rendering the wonderfully weird as noble and bizarre. You might call them patriots, kooks, or even true visionaries. These founding fathers are unique.

The countries range in size from 1.3 acres to a few miles. One has no land at all. There’s an “ecclesiastical principality” called Seborga, established within Italy in 820 A.D. with a population of 340. There are visionaries at The Seafaring Institute who expect to house 100,000 people at sea within 25 years.

Who knew that the smallest micronation, Molossia, was founded in 1998 in northern Nevada? President Kevin Baugh, wearing self-styled military regalia, shows us Molossian stamps and currency. His 1.3 acre nation boasts a population of six, including his three dogs. They operate on Molossian standard time.

Baugh admits that he’s required to pay taxes, and visits the United States often for supplies and services. Still, he relishes his independence. Inspired by Peter Sellers in The Mouse That Roared, he’s realizing a boyhood dream.

His Royal Highnesses Prince Leonard Casley founded Hutt River Province, 75 square kilometers (“about the size of Hong Kong”) in western Australia. In the face of national wheat farming restrictions, he seceded in 1970. Princess Shirley reigns by his side. Australian politicians seem skeptical, but give Prince Leonard his due. 

Going independent isn’t easy, and often means scarce supplies. “It’s a hard life but it’s our own life,” says Prince Leonard.

 

In the middle of Long Island Sound lies Dumpling Island, founded by President Dean Kamen (inventor of the Segway and other futuristic technologies). Kamen proudly notes that the Dumplonian Empire produces its own wind and solar energy. This makes it a model for the United States, he says.

The New Free State of Caroline’s Founder Gregory Green has realized an “alternative option for empowerment.” Costumed like pop artists or Lady Gaga fans, citizens parade on the beach behind Green. As their national anthem plays, a flag flies high above.

Caroline has no land. Its location is variable, says Green. Over 1500 have become citizens just by contacting him. Caroline is “a state of mind” across borders, the leader declares.

The Seasteading Institute received a half million dollar grant from Peter Thiel, an early Facebook investor and the CEO of Paypal. Patri Friedman, executive director, says he’s inspired by the idea of a true frontier, the chance to experiment with “beautiful cities” floating on the ocean. The group is staffed with idealists in their twenties.

What about hurricanes and tsunamis? Engineers are studying ocean currents, wind energy and solar panels as they design and test the mechanical basis for seasteads.

What makes a country? There’s a common purpose and unifying mission. These groups enjoy a psychological liberation, according to Erwin Strauss, author of How to Start Your Own Country. 

Friedman envisions social advancement, the chance to revolutionize governments by experimenting with different ways of life. For Kamen, nationhood means “a shared understanding and a respect among people for a set of ideas.”

Shapiro is also known for directing the Green Porno short film series for the Sundance Channel.

 If you like How to Start Your Own Country, you might enjoy:  Happy; I Am.

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How to Start Your Own Country     2010  /  NR  /  1 hour, 12 min

Cast Overview:  Kevin Baugh, Patri Friedman, Dean Kamen, His Royal Highness Prince Leonard

Director:  Jody Shapiro

Genre:  Documentary

 

 

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

 

The Insider: Russell Crowe fights Big Tobacco in real-life thriller *****

 

A whistleblower (Russell Crowe) forces Big Tobacco to reveal the dangers of cigarette smoking in the fact-based thriller The Insider (1999).

With non-stop suspense, the film follows tobacco scientist Jeffrey Wigand (Crowe) and CBS news producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) as they create a 60 Minutes expose. Wigand faces death threats and loses his job and family. Bergman challenges the network and legendary newsman Mike Wallace (Christopher Plummer) to air the segment despite litigation.

Director Michael Mann’s film is in the spotlight this week as five tobacco companies filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday. They are challenging part of the 2009 law which imposed federal regulations on the tobacco industry. The F.D.A. has mandated that they print graphic warning images on cigarette packages as of September 2012.

The Insider is an iconic look at American journalism. Like All the President’s Men (1976), it explores moral dilemmas in journalism and in life with outstanding character development and pacing. The relationship between a journalist and his source is intimately explored.

Wigand reluctantly tells his story and is sued by Big Tobacco for breaking a confidentiality agreement. Bergman assures Wigand that he is making a tremendous difference by speaking out. According to HealthNews.com, “Tobacco smoke contains a deadly mixture of more than 7,000 chemicals and compounds, of which hundreds are toxic and at least 70 cause cancer. Smoking causes more than 85 percent of lung cancers. . . . One in three cancer deaths in the U.S. is tobacco-related.”

A whistleblower on the edge of nervous exhaustion, Wigand cannot ignore the serious public health hazard. Before speaking with Bergman he warns a tobacco company executive about “ammonia chemistry.” He’s incredulous when the company chooses profit over safety.

Crowe’s acting is raw and fully dimensional, foreshadowing his Oscar-nominated portrayal of Dr. John Nash in A Beautiful Mind (2001). Wigand loses virtually everything: his career, his reputation, his wife and children, and his home.

Crowe becomes the consummate hero as The Insider never flinches from looking at personal agony and danger. Wigand rails against Bergman. “I have to put my family's welfare on the line here, my friend! And what are you puttin' up? You're puttin' up words!” he shouts.

 

Pacino is a pit bull here as Bergman fights to air the 60 Minutes interview. “You pay me to go get guys like Wigand, to draw him out. To get him to trust us, to get him to go on television. I do. I deliver him. He sits. He talks. . . . Is it newsworthy? Yes. Are we gonna air it? Of course not. Why? Because he's not telling the truth? No. Because he is telling the truth.”

Privately, Bergman worries that his source has sacrificed in vain. His wife (Lindsay Crouse) prompts him to re-examine his personal and professional values. Forced to take a leave from work, Bergman walks along the beach near his vacation home. Ocean waves roll in. It’s a timeless image of a man with all the perks of success pausing to breathe and re-evaluate his career. This is one of Pacino’s many memorable characters, reminiscent of Lt. Vincent Hanna in Heat (1995) and Arthur Kirkland in … And Justice for All (1979).

Plummer portrays Mike Wallace as ego-driven and power-hungry, a journalist whose will to investigate powerful special interests is compromised. Plummer conveys charisma and gravitas as the 60 Minutes star. Wallace objected to how he was portrayed when the film was released.

Diane Venora (who played Al Pacino’s wife Justine in Heat), gives a brief but moving performance as Liane Wigand. Philip Baker Hall plays legendary investigative journalist turned CBS executive producer Don Hewitt. Hewitt died in 2009.

Finally the full interview appears on 60 Minutes, but only after The New York Times reveals CBS’ financial motives to suppress the story. The Wall Street Journal clears Wigand’s name after a tobacco industry smear campaign. Wigand reveals that the manipulation of ammonia causes addiction as nicotine is more rapidly absorbed into the lung. This boosts its affects on the brain and central nervous system, he said.

Mann wrote the excellent screenplay with Eric Roth. Dante Spinotti’s cinematography is superb, especially during a scene where a suicidal Wigand sits alone in a hotel room. In a panoramic shot, the mural-covered walls swirl around the hero. Music is used as dialogue to convey deeper meanings.

The Insider was nominated for seven Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor (Crowe) and Best Director. Wigand went on to teach high school science and was nationally recognized for his work in the classroom. Bergman became a producer for the PBS show Frontline. He’s also a professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.

If you like The Insider, you might enjoy: Page One: Inside the New York Times; The Soloist.

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The Insider     1999  /  R  /  2 hours, 35 min

Cast Overview:  Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, Michael Gambon, Diane Venora, Bruce McGill, Philip Baker Hall, Lindsay Crouse, Gina Gershon

Director:  Michael Mann

Genre:  Thriller, Drama, Biography

 

The Help: women speak out, cross color lines in Deep South drama ****1/2

 

Women unite when a black maid (Viola Davis) tells her story to a young, white journalist (Emma Stone) in The Help, a drama set in 1960’s Jackson, Mississippi. Based on Kathryn Stockett’s novel of the same name, Tate Taylor’s film is made vivid by an impressive, diverse female ensemble cast.

The Help looks selectively at the segregation era in the Deep South, stepping gingerly around the land mines of racial hatred and violence. While wife beating is mentioned, and the assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers is reported on television, this film is about women: boss ladies and maids, saints and sinners, competitors and collaborators. Among them are quiet leaders.   

Oscar-worthy performances abound. These movie legends and young talents clearly cared about the project and shared a rapport that is evident on-screen. Taylor, who adapted the screenplay, employs a lively pace and an upbeat tone even as anger ferments. He takes a big risk by using humor to upend fear and separation.

The maids earn 95 cents per hour with no Social Security benefits. The boss ladies live in beautiful mansions, play cards and gossip as the help raise their children and do the housework.  

Aibileen Clark (Davis) first agrees to help Skeeter Phelan (Stone) with her housekeeping column for the Jackson Journal. When Skeeter tells her she’s writing a book from the perspective of black women, Aibileen is speechless. Stone (Easy A) is outstanding as an earnest young reporter who remains true to herself. Allison Janney plays Skeeter’s anxious mother. Mary Steenburgen plays a profit-minded publisher.

 
 
 
Aibileen’s wisdom has been honed by indignity and tragedy. A writer at heart, she journals every night. Skeeter travels secretly to Aibileen’s kitchen to interview her for the controversial book. Aibileen can barely speak about her own son, who died after he was denied prompt medical attention following a work accident.

Oscar nominated for her supporting role in Doubt, Davis captures the soul of understatement. Aibileen is stoic and polite, a churchgoer who genuinely lives by Christian principles. Her best friend Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) speaks out loudly. “We livin’ in hell,” she tells Skeeter. “Trapped.” Spencer delivers a breakout performance.

Minny’s boss Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard, bracing and relentless here) is crusading for a Home Health Sanitation Initiative. Blacks are ordered to use separate, outdoor bathrooms where they work. When Minny dares break the rule out of necessity, she’s promptly fired. She has no choice but to work for the town’s social outcast Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain, marvelously batty in this role). Chastain and Spencer forge a fascinating dynamic of respect and momentary equality. Sissy Spacek plays Miss Hilly’s senile, defiant mother. Cicely Tyson is regal as Skeeter’s mammy Constantine.

There’s a “Real Housewives of Jackson” feel to The Help that’s soon transcended. Aibileen’s voice is central. “No one ever asked me what it feeled like to be me. Once I told the truth about that I felt free.” When Elizabeth (Ahna O’Reilly) scolds her daughter harshly, Aibileen has the girl repeat a positive message that just might sustain her: “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.”

"I know those women,” Viola Davis told ComingSoon.net. “Those women are very specific in my history. My aunt Joyce, my mom May Alice, my grandmother . . . . I didn't even have to search. I could just have emotional recall."

The Help ends on several feel-good notes. When a crisis rocks the community, a host of women step forward to share their stories. This is the film’s transformative moment. Social change begins where it always must: within each of us.

 If you like The Help, you might enjoy:  Precious; The Blind Side.

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The Help     2011  /  PG-13 /  2 hours, 17 min

Cast Overview:  Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, Chris Lowell, Sissy Spacek, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, Cicely Tyson, Mike Vogel, Anna Camp, Aunjanue Ellis, Mary Steenburgen, Ahna O’Reilly, Eleanor Henry, Emma Henry

Director:  Tate Taylor

Genre:  Drama, Period Piece

 

Missing Pieces: Mark Boone Junior kidnaps his way to love ****

 

Kidnapping meets romance in the indie psychological drama Missing Pieces. Director Kenton Bartlett’s feature debut asks big questions and answers them with mind-bending originality. I want to feel something real. I want to feel happy. Why is this happening? It's now streaming online.

Missing Pieces investigates the brink of wholeness. Impressively crafted on a low budget, it’s a tale of dissolution and survival, a sly mix of Criminal Minds and the spiritual genre.

Mark Boone Junior (Memento; Batman Begins; Sons of Anarchy) is fascinating as David Lindale, a man whose life implodes after a head injury. With his mind and emotions fractured, he poignantly struggles to win back his exasperated ex-girlfriend Delia Greenly (Melora Walters). Soon his actions take a disturbing turn.

David seems gentle, but we don’t know what he’s capable of. Recovering from an accident, he has stopped taking his medication. While making his rounds as a delivery man, David meets Maggie Anderson (Taylor Engel) and Daylen Gordon (Daniel Hassel). With the sure insight of a damaged human being, he immediately recognizes that the two are missing pieces of their lives, too.

Using sparse, strong dialogue, Bartlett (who also wrote and produced the film) weaves in excerpts from a self-help tape. These represent David’s efforts to heal and to reclaim his life. The effect succeeds with preachy truisms like, “The only way to be happy is right here in this moment.” Loneliness becomes tangible.

David devises a plan: observe love. The world becomes his laboratory. If he can isolate two people and provide them with the right questions and instructions, can he reproduce the formula for happiness and love? Boone Junior reveals the monster within all of us.

Constant cuts to different lives and characters obscure the narrative. The logistics behind David’s grand experiment stretch belief. The harrowing journey runs a bit too long. Still this is a film worth seeing for its rich storytelling, challenging and original premise, and compassionate vision.

 

A turning point is reached when David realizes, “I need to give more.” He approaches Delia again.

Boone Junior creates an arresting portrait of despair and hope that anchors the film. Walters (Boogie Nights; Magnolia; Big Love) convinces as an aggravated woman who knows when it’s time to give up. Engel and Hassel debut with fine performances as Maggie and Daylen discover themselves and each other under extreme conditions.

Cinematographer Jonathan Arturo uses the camera in a full, free way that captures small, personal worlds in the context of sweeping, natural landscapes. Longing, fear and anger are evoked with a beautiful, understated color palette. Several scenes come to life like Andrew Wyeth paintings. Filmed primarily in Birmingham, Alabama, Missing Pieces was also shot in Colorado, South Dakota and Utah.                 

Richey Rynkowski (orchestrator assistant on Black Swan) creates original music that resonates and adds dimensionality.

Missing Pieces is a cry from the depths, a demand for answers from a seemingly indifferent Universe, a creepy trek towards self-actualization and love.

 If you like Missing Pieces, you might enjoy:  The Ledge; The Perfect Host; The Tree of Life.

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Missing Pieces     2011  /  NR /  1 hour, 57 min.

Cast Overview:  Mark Boone Jr., Melora Walters, Daniel Hassel, Taylor Engel

Director:  Kenton Bartlett

Genre:  Indie, Psychological Drama, Suspense

Captain America: The First Avenger ***

 

Imagine a stirring marvel comics movie where a violent bully breaks away from his boss Hitler and threatens the entire free world. A scrawny, heroic American boy risks his life in a secret experiment. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) emerges a muscular Mr. Universe with superhero powers. His mission: to track down the demonic Red Skull (Hugo Weaving).

Now imagine watching the entire movie wearing dark shades. Captain America: The First Avenger, sets up next year’s comic book feature The Avengers.

The story is exciting at first. World War II is underway. Hitler wins victory after victory. Rogers, a gaunt asthmatic with a brave spirit, is turned down by the Army. He applies again and again. When research scientist and former Nazi Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci, fascinating here) spies Rogers at the World’s Fair in Queens, New York, he sees great potential.

“Do you want to kill Nazis?” Erskine asks Rogers. “I don’t want to kill anyone,” Rogers replies. “I don’t like bullies.” The scientist recruits him for a top-secret training program. Rogers will become the first of a new breed of super soldiers. “Why me?” Rogers asks. A weak man knows compassion, Erskine tells him. Skeptical Col. Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones, very good here) must admit that lightweight Rogers has loads of bravery and character.

A gray pall covers the entire 2-D version of Captain America. The movie is so visually dull that its story grows lackluster. Reviewers who saw the 3-D version have complained about an even darker effect. Too bad director Joe Johnston didn’t take a cue from Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight), who married noir with occasional daylight. Johnston’s film isn’t noir, though. It’s just gray.

 

Transformation is overshadowed by special effects. Captain America loses energy in its second half. Repetitive action, stiff formality and a disconnected feeling among cast members don’t help. Oh, for the heart and pizzazz of Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man! Absent is the rich character and interpersonal sparring of the X-Men: First Class!

Johnston (Jumanji; Jurassic Park III; October Sky) could have filmed Captain America in black and white. This would have been more interesting and lively. He does capture beautiful 1940’s detail here.

In emphasizing period detail and computer-generated effects, the director neglects character development. Often lacking are the complexities of authentic interpersonal tension (achieved so well in X-Men: First Class). The rapport between Evans and his love interest, training officer Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), feels forced and underdeveloped.

Evans creates a strong, brave, soft-spoken hero (combining shades of Superman and Clark Kent). Sebastian Stan plays his best friend Bucky Barnes. Weaving (Agent Smith in The Matrix trilogy) is fun to watch as dastardly Red Skull, a power-hungry villain almost incoherent with hatred.

Red Skull is backed by an army of robo-soldiers who make up the Nazi research group Hydra. “Hail, Hydra!” they cry. “If you cut off one head, many will grow it its place,” a dying spy warns Captain America.        

A twisted reference to the tree of life symbol (a tree that joins heaven and earth) is shown as an invasive, sinister “Tree of the World” emblem for Hydra.

Why mask the red, white and blue with unrelenting gray? The choice reflects America’s widespread national cynicism. A languishing economy, natural disasters and terrorist acts have made such cynicism popular. Captain America is doing extremely well at the box office.

Promising inspiration, Captain America doesn’t deliver. Thankfully, this marvel comics movie ends with a dash of hope. Samuel L. Jackson reminds us that this tale merely sets up the future adventures of The Avengers (2012). Starring will be Evans, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Jackson as Nick Fury, and many more. The Avengers is being directed by Joss Whedon.

If you like Captain America, you might enjoy:  X-Men: First Class; Thor; Iron Man 2.

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Captain America     2011  /  PG-13  /  2 hours, 4 min

Cast Overview:  Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Toby Jones, Neal McDonough, Derek Luke, Ken Choi, Stanley Tucci

Director:  Joe Johnston 

Genre:  Comic Book, Adventure, Fantasy

 

Queen to Play *****

 

A sensual encounter over a chessboard inspires a hotel chambermaid to shine in Queen to Play, a soulful dramedy where a working class woman transcends personal and social limits.

When Helene (Sandrine Bonnaire) spies a couple (Jennifer Beals and Dominic Gould) playing chess on the balcony of a room she is cleaning, she cannot look away. Their connection is intimate and playful. Obviously in love, they match wits hungrily. Playing chess is a continuation of their lovemaking. Helene is hooked.

As travelers with fascinating lives visit the lovely island of Corsica, Helene has watched them. Can the quiet, modest wife and mother conjure adventures of her own? She begins to explore chess. The beauty of the carved wooden pieces, the strategy behind the moves and the power of the Queen fascinate her. Chess becomes Helene’s inspiration and path to empowerment in Caroline Bottaro’s impressive feature film debut.

Resolved to embrace more of life, Helene buys her husband Ange (Francis Renaud) an electronic chess board for his birthday. The problem is he doesn’t play. “Maybe you will learn,” she suggests. Hard-working Ange is too tired to listen to his wife. When Helene wears a silk negligee to bed, he doesn’t even notice.

Sleepless Helene plays chess in the middle of the night. As she plans her moves, she sees new possibilities in life. Then she reaches a plateau. She now needs a coach to help her master the game.

People talk. When reclusive American widower Dr. Kroger (Kevin Kline) agrees to teach chess to his part-time house cleaner, Helene spends more and more time at his home. She returns home late, leaving Ange and her 15-year-old Lisa (Alexandra Gentil) to prepare their own dinner.

Neighborhood gossip reaches Ange. Suspecting the worst, he follows Helene to Kroger’s home.  What he spies through the window stuns him.

Helene is not having an affair, but she is sharing her mind and spirit. Ange reels with resentment. Life imitates chess as Helene and Ange begin to redefine their relationship. They think, consider and move differently, especially in an encounter at the kitchen table.

Bottaro’s chess-like plot and character growth fascinate. In an emblematic scene, Helene comes to life as she mops the hotel floor, becoming the Queen on a huge chessboard. The film observes class and feminism delicately, never losing personal relevance and vibrancy. Watching her mother take risks, Lisa finds new respect for her.

 

Bonnaire (Vagabond) achieves sensitive ardor in an exquisite performance. She plays perfectly off Oscar winner Kevin Kline in his first French-speaking role. As Kroger becomes Helene’s mentor and friend, Kline bristles with wry humor, masculinity and unpredictability. Chess, like anything else, reveals insight into self and others.

Telepathy grows between teacher and student. In an intriguing scene, Kroger and Helene play a sly, verbal game of chess. With just the hint of a caress, the two appreciate each other as man and woman.

Helene wins game after game, so Kroger encourages her to enter a local amateur tournament. The professor remains involved and irascible. “When you take a risk you may lose,” he tells her. “When you don’t take a risk you always lose.”

With undertones of feminism, Queen to Play never preaches. Bottaro keeps it real and honest. The filmmaker co-wrote the script with Caroline May.

As Helene learns to believe in herself, she finds her true voice. Queen to Play is based on Bertina Henrichs’ novel La Joueuse d’echec (The Chess Player).

If you like Queen to Play, you might enjoy: An Education; Shopgirl; Mademoiselle Chambon.

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Queen to Play    2009  /  NR  /  1 hour, 36 min

Cast Overview:  Sandrine Bonnaire, Kevin Kline, Francis Renaud, Jennifer Beals, Dominic Gould, Valerie Lagrange, Alexandra Gentil

Director:  Caroline Bottaro

Genre:  Drama, Dramedy, Foreign Film

Language: French with English subtitles

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