Genre: Action, Comedy, Music, Musical

Year: 1980

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles

Director: John Landis

My Review: After four years, Jake Blues (played by John Belushi) is paroled from Joliet Correctional Center outside Chicago, Illinois. His brother, Elwood Blues (played by Dan Aykroyd) is there to pick him up. Driving the new 'Blues Mobile', Jake and Elwood visit Sister Mary Stigmata (aka The Penguin) at the orphanage where they grew up. Sister Mary gives them the bad news. The home is in danger of foreclosure. If they can't come up with $5,000 dollars in property taxes, the orphanage will be shut down. What follows is Jake and Elwood, as they do their best to raise the money. They re-unite 'The Band', and wreck almighty havoc during their mission from god. Action packed, comedic, excellent music (Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, James Brown), dance numbers, pacing and characters. An unstoppable, feel good, campy classic. 5 out of 5.

Summary: After the release of Jake Blues from prison, he and brother Elwood go to visit the old home where they were raised by nuns. They learn the church stopped its support and will sell the place to the education authority, and the only way to keep the place open is if the $5000 tax on the property is paid within 11 days. The brothers want to help and decide to put their blues band back together and raise the the money by staging a big gig. As they set off on their "mission from god" they seem to make more enemies along the way. Will they manage to come up with the money in time?

Genre: Drama

Year: 2008

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Michelle Williams, Lucy, David Koppell, Max Clement, Sid Shanley

Director: Kelly Reichardt

My Review: Wendy's on a journey - Headed for Alaska, she ends up detoured in Oregon. The start of her bad day begins when her car won't start, then she gets caught shoplifting and her beloved dog - Lucy, disappears. It's a very personal drama with some fair acting. It's subtle, low key, and realistically paced. The editing was very well done, as was the direction and camera work. Unfortunately, the script was boring. A story about economic decisions of an out of work young woman, struggling to find a place in this world. 2 out of 5.

Summary: A woman's life is derailed en route to a potentially lucrative summer job. When her car breaks down, and her dog is taken to the pound, the thin fabric of her financial situation comes apart, and she is led through a series of increasingly dire economic decisions.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Year: 2010

Country: UK, USA

Rating:

Starring: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic, Shawn Roberts

Director: Martin Campbell

My Review: Starring Mel Gibson, this movie is based on a BBC mini-series which aired back in the mid 80's. Mel Gibson plays his usual character. Thomas Craven is a hardened police detective, nearing the end of his tenure. When his only daughter Emma comes to pay him a surprise visit, the action begins. She's gunned down in cold-blood right on Craven's front porch. While others think detective Craven may have been the target, the facts begin to suggest otherwise. Craven vows to find those responsible, and his determination is a powerful force to reckon with. What follows is a rich and twisted mystery with fully developed characters and plenty of intrigue. Unfortunately, this A story was cast with B actors. Mel Gibson was not at the top of his game, but Ray Winstone did a smashing job as the enigmatic 'Cleaner'. While the movie lasted nearly two hours, a longer treatment would have been better. This abbreviated version (based on the 80's TV series) contained plenty of exposition and a rather straight-forward unravelling of the clues. 3 of 5. I'v added the original TV series to my Netflix queue.

Summary: Thomas Craven, is a detective who has spent years working the streets of Boston. When his own daughter is killed near the door of his home, Craven realizes that her death is only one piece of an intriguing puzzle filled with corruption and conspiracy, and it falls to him to discover who is behind the crime.

Genre: Drama, Sport

Year: 2009

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis

Director: Drew Barrymore

My Review: A feel good, girl power, coming of age movie with laughs, heart and spunk. Directed (and starring) by Drew Barrymore, and starring Ellen Page. It's a great story, with an excellent setting, and Drew Barrymore did a pretty good job in her directorial debut. In a small Texas town, one young girl seeks to escape from the smothering control of her socially stratified mother. Bliss Cavendar (played by Ellen Page) doesn't want to compete in beauty pageants and date the captain of the football team. She struggles to be an individual, and really lifts the bar when she secretly joins an all-girl roller derby team. Her double life as 'Babe Ruthless' satisfies her desires to set her own agenda, but she's oblivious to the consequences. Soon she's dating a bad-boy from a local band ,and attending late night parties with her best friend Pash. When her parents find out about her secret life, this seventeen year old rebel is in for big trouble. While the story was great, I felt that the cast contained names too big and too old for the roles portrayed. Ellen Page, at 23 plays a seventeen year old? She's getting a bit old for these types of roles. Drew Barrymore and Juliette Lewis weren't believable in their roles either. O.k. it wasn't a documentary, but the movie would have been much better if they'd cast some younger, less recognizable actors. Some of the writing accentuated the lesbian angle, although they never presented it outright. The camera work and editing seemed to accentuate the posterior 'assets' to a great extent, and the food fight was a bit juvenile. I liked the movie, but I wasn't the target audience. 3 out of 5.

Summary:

Genre: Biography, Drama, History, Sport

Year: 2009

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge, Patrick Mofokeng, Matt Stern

Director: Clint Eastwood

My Review: An uplifting drama about reconciliation in South Africa. Morgan Freeman plays Nelson Mandela, and Matt Damon plays François Pienaar, the Captain of the South African rugby team, the Springboks. As Nelson Mandela struggles to unite his struggling nation, the Springboks struggle to win games and remain relevant in a country that has just turned upside down. It's an inspirational story set in the post apartheid South Africa of 1995. When Nelson Mandela realizes the potential of this untapped national resource, he encourages the young captain and his team to become examples of hope for this new South Africa. Can the world of sports transcend a world of fear and hate? Can the Springboks possibly win the World Cup of Rugby? Matt Damon did a good job, despite the fact that he was far too small (5'10", 170lbs) for the role and had no accent. Morgan Freeman did a splendid job as Nelson Mandela. The direction (Clint Eastwood) was excellent and the camera work superb. Unfortunately, the movie contained an unusually long ending segment, the music was a bit overwrought, and the security sub-plot was poorly edited and executed. 4 out of 5 on the strength of this powerful true story.

Summary: The film tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa's rugby team to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.

Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller

Year: 2009

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, Molly Parker

Director: John Hillcoat

My Review: A powerful drama, a gripping sci-fi vision, a dark near-future scenario with just a hint of redemption. The acting in this well produced post-apocalyptic vision was exceptional. Everyone - From the veteran, Viggo Mortensen to the child actor, Kodi Smit-McPhee did an outstanding job. Based on a novel, the producers managed to create a comprehensive eco-sphere of believability. The camera work, art direction, costumes, music, lighting and props all led an air of absolute believability to this movie. I was fully engulfed in the dark future of 'the Road'. In this dark future drama, father and son trek across a devastated America. In search of warmer weather and a new beginning, they do their best to survive the soul-crushing reality of a world with little hope. Very well directed, acted and produced. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Summary: A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind and water. It is cold enough to crack stones, and, when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the warmer south, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing: just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless cannibalistic bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a rusting shopping cart of scavenged food--and each other.