Genre: Drama

Year: 2012

Country: Mexico, France, Netherlands, Germany

Rating:

Starring: Rut Reygadas, Mitsy Ferrand, Joakim Chardonnens, Ander Vérez, Willebaldo Torres

Director: Carlos Reygadas

My Review: Post Tenebras Lux - What a sucker I am. The previews of this ‘artsy’ film sure hooked me. I’m a sucker for surrealist post apocalyptic themes, and this one had plenty of that. The movie is filled with strange scenic vignettes. The visual aspects were excellent, but the story? I’m not sure there really was one. Scenes of life in a Mexican family. Light vs Darkness was a theme? of the movie, but there wasn’t any meaningful dialog or plot to speak of. Without a Mexican heritage or cultural reference, I was lost amidst the stark and bold imagery of the movie. As I indicated previously, the imagery and artistic direction were well handled, produced, directed, but this was more art than film. I can’t give it more than a 2 out of 5.

Summary: Juan and his urban family live in the Mexican countryside, where they enjoy and suffer a world apart. And nobody knows if these two worlds are complementary or if they strive to eliminate one another.

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller

Year: 1973

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Walter Matthau, Joe Don Baker, Felicia Farr, Andrew Robinson, Sheree North

Director: Don Siegel

My Review: Charley Varrick - Yes, that’s the name of this movie. A 70s (1973) action, crime, drama from the U.K. Starring Walter Matthau, Joe Don Baker, Felicia Farr and others. This movie typifies many of the action, crime, dramas from the 70s. Gritty, honest, more drama than action. No focus on special effects, and far less editing; thank you! Walter Mathau plays a small time crook. A bank robber with more ambition than brains. The plan for a quick in-and-out robbery, at a small town bank doesn’t look so bad on paper. He and his crew end up with a huge pile of loot. Way more money than they expected from this sleepy little town. What they didn’t know was who they were stealing money from. It wasn’t just any little bank. This bank was carrying laundered loot for the mob. The real bad guys quickly figure out who stole their money, and the chase is on. Charley and his crew have to outsmart the mob, their hit-men, and the corrupt cops they’ve bought off. Everyone’s out to Kill Charley! The best part of this movie was it’s long takes and gritty feel. The acting (in my opinion) was the weakest part of this movie. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Summary: Charley Varrick and his friends rob a small town bank. Expecting a small sum to divide amongst themselves, they are surprised to discover a very LARGE amount of money. Quickly figuring out that the money belongs to the MOB, they must now come up with a plan to throw the MOB off their trail.

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama

Year: 1988

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker

Director: Michael Lehmann

My Review: Heathers - A movie about the popular girls, and the school they rule. Three girls named Heather rule the social stratum of a local high school and Veronica (played by Winona Ryder) is desperately trying to be part of their clique. Veronica’s best friends - The Heathers; are cruel, pitiless and vain. When she meets J.D. (played by Christian Slater) things get a bit out of control. When Veronica finally decides to stand up to the Heathers, they vow to destroy her and make sure that she’s humiliated in front of the whole school. Veronica will never be part of the ‘in’ crowd while these Heathers are ‘in charge’. Rather than groveling and submitting to the Heathers, J.D. and Veronica concoct a plan to get revenge on the three Heathers. The plans are a bit extreme, and the Heathers may have to die in order to carry out their plan. Oh well, so be it. The movie is a bit morbid in its satire of high-school social strata. I give this movie a 3 out of 5.

Summary: A regular girl, Veronica, tries to survive the social jungle of high school by sticking with the three most popular girls at school who are all called Heather. As she meets a sociopath named JD, her life spirals into a continuous cycle of hate, unintentional murder and indifference, as she exacts revenge on her enemies, also known as her best friends.

Genre: Action

Year: 1998

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Patrick Muldoon, Jane Sibbett, Michael Sarrazin, Catherine Blythe, Michael Scherer

Director: Kevin Tenney

My Review: The Arrival 2 - 1998 Sci-Fi movie. A sequel to “The Arrival”, written and directed by David Twohy (a favorite writer/director), starring Charlie Sheen and others. Arrival II is a pale comparison to the original. Arrival II is written by Mark David Perry and directed by Kevin Tenney. Starring Patrick Muldoon, Jane Sibbett, Michael Sarrazin and others. The sequel picks up where the original left off. In this movie Patrick Muldoon plays a Jack Ziminski, brother to Zane Ziminski (Charlie Sheen in the first movie). Jack is a computer hacker who learns about the alien invasion conspiracy and the death of his brother from a posthumous letter that arrives in the mail. Jack soon finds himself teamed up with others who received similar letters. This group of scientists and a reporter begin investigating the mysterious deaths of Zane and his collaborators. Armed with an odd piece of alien technology, they soon find themselves embroiled in the same conspiracy that destroyed Zane. The writing and direction in the second movie is poor. The dialog unbelievable and the acting quite poor. After midway through the movie the only action is the core group attempting to escape with their lives. I own both movies. I bought the second movie on the strength of the first. I didn’t know that it was written and directed by different people. I give this movie a 2 out of 5.

Summary: A computer hacker (Patrick Muldoon) learns of the plot of the backwards-kneed aliens to take over the Earth using their shape-shifting talents.

Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport

Year: 2013

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie, Christopher Meloni, Ryan Merriman

Director: Brian Helgeland

My Review: 42 - A 2013 movie about Jackie Robinson. FYI: Just in case you didn’t know - That’s his number. 42: Jackie Robinson’s number while he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. This movie is a biopic about Jackie Robinson, the first ‘Negro’ player to play baseball in the major leagues. It’s a movie about segregation, personal struggles and overcoming obstacles - personal, societal and institutional. Written and directed by Brian Helgeland (Screenplay/Writer for: L.A. Confidential, Conspiracy Theory, The Postman, Payback, Mystic River, The Order, others). He hasn’t done a lot of directing, but here the studios/producers made an excellent choice. He’s the ideal person to direct this story. The cast was well selected as well. With Chadwick Boseman playing Jackie Robinson, Harrison Ford as Brach Rickey, Nicole Behave as Rachel Robinson and Christopher Meloni as Leo Durocher. I like baseball movies, and this one is a bit more than your standard ‘overcoming hardships’ movie. The hardships here are much more difficult to surmount. Institutionalized racism and segregation in America were still quite strong in 1945. With the war over, our nation turned inward to address some problems it had been ignoring for a long time, and America’s number one pass-time presented a center stage to highlight the inequality inherent in our segregated society. Jackie Robinson, Branch Rickey (the coach) and Leo Durocher all exhibited great character and moral fortitude in their restraint from violence and courage to do the right thing in their efforts to break down our society’s race barrier. This movie is less about Jackie Robinson as an individual as it is about the team, our nation, and society during that time. I give this movie a 4 out of 5.

Summary: In 1946, Jackie Robinson is a Negro League baseball player who never takes racism lying down. Branch Rickey is a Major League team executive with a bold idea. To that end, Rickey recruits Robinson to break the unspoken color line as the first modern African American Major League player. As both anticipate, this proves a major challenge for Robinson and his family as they endure unrelenting racist hostility on and off the field, from player and fan alike. As Jackie struggles against his nature to endure such abuse without complaint, he finds allies and hope where he least expects it.

Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller, War

Year: 1965

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Marlon Brando, Yul Brynner, Janet Margolin, Trevor Howard, Martin Benrath

Director: Bernhard Wicki

My Review: Morituri - 1965. Morituri is the name of a ship in this movie. I’m a sucker for the WWII movies, and it’s been some time since I’ve seen this one. Based on a novel by Werner Jörg Lüddecke, this movie is directed by Bernhard Wicki (not the best director). Despite the lack of directing power, this movie makes up for the lack of strong direction with excellent acting. Morituri stars two of the most powerful actors of the era. Marlon Brando playing Robert Crain and Yul Bryner plays Captain Mueller. The movie takes place in 1942, and WWII is heating up in the Pacific. Marlon Brando is blackmailed by the British secret service; cooperate in this crazy scheme or we will reveal your status as a defector to the Germans. He’s sent aboard a cargo ship (the Ingo is a Japanese ship) in the guise of an SS officer. The ship is leaving Japan on its way to Germany; loaded with a precious wartime commodity of rubber, this cargo is headed for Nazi Germany, to fuel the flames of Hitler’s war in Europe. While the Allies lack the Naval power necessary to interdict the ship, the British have one weapon they’re willing to aim at the Morituri’s hull. Robert Crain the German defector. His mission is deception and sabotage. Prevent the Captain and crew of the Ingo from scuttling the ship if stopped by the British navy. The cargo of rubber that this ship carries is cover for the drama that unfolds as Brando and Brynner (playing the German captain onboard the cargo ship) match wits in this tense game of cat and mouse. Another sub-plot that ratchets up the tension is that of Esther, the Jewish woman. Onboard the ship as a stow away, she’s trying to keep her ethnicity secret while simultaneously dealing with a recent rape. Brando as a double agent is presented with numerous challenges in this gripping WWII tale at sea. He has to deal with the suspicious German captain, a treacherous admiralty, stow aways with questionable loyalties, allied destroyers, and a cargo hold full of rubber - All set to explode at the slightest provocation. The camera work was quite good, and the set is an actual ship. Not a studio set with fake props. Morituri is packed with explosive drama and devious plotting. It won two Academy awards in 1996. I give it a 5 out of 5.

Summary: A German living in India during World War II is blackmailed by the English to impersonate an SS officer on board a cargo ship leaving Japan for Germany carrying a large supply of rubber for tyres. His mission is to disable the scuttling charges so the captain cannot sink the ship if they are stopped by English warships.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Year: 2007

Country: France, Germany

Rating:

Starring: Adam Goldberg, Julie Delpy, Daniel Brühl, Marie Pillet, Albert Delpy

Director: Julie Delpy

My Review: 2 Days in Paris: 2007 (comedy, drama, romance) Written, directed by and starring Julie Delpy. Also stars Adam Goldberg and others. It’s a chick flick - For sure. In many ways this movie feels like a Woody Allen comedy, primarily because of Adam Goldberg. His neurotic character and the setting in Paris contribute to the vibe. A New York based couple (Julie Delpy playing Marion the French photographer, and Adam Goldberg playing Jack the New Yorker) travel to Europe for a brief vacation. While Venice didn’t work out so well (it was something they ate), we find the couple briefly encamped in Paris, where Marion grew up. Of course living with Marion’s parents (who don’t speak English) only makes matters worse. Their differences become painfully obvious as their differences are contrasted with the differences between American and French culture clash with the differences between Marion and Jack. As the ending approaches, we wonder whether the mutual love for each (the couple the cultures) will win out. I give it a 3 out of 5. If I were a ‘Chick’ it would likely rate higher. I can only take so much of this ‘relationship’ rubbish.

Summary: 2 Jours - 2 Days follows two days in the relationship of a New York based couple - a French photographer Marion and American interior designer Jack - as they attempt to re-infuse their relationship with romance by taking a vacation in Europe. Their trip to Venice didn't really work out, - they both came down with gastroenteritis. They have higher hopes for Paris. But the combination of Marion's overbearing non-English-speaking parents, flirtatious ex-boyfriends, and Jack's obsession with photographing every famous Parisian tombstone and conviction that French condoms are too small, only adds fuel to the fire. Will they be able to salvage their relationship? Will they ever have sex again? Or will they merely manage to perfect the art of arguing?

Genre: Documentary

Year: 1998

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: David Beard, Jim Seward, Stefan Avalos, Lance Weiler, Rein Clabbers

Director: Stefan Avalos, Lance Weiler

My Review: The Last Broadcast: 1998 (horror, mystery) Written, directed and starring a cast and crew of complete amateurs. Here’s an attempt to cash in on the ‘found footage’ phenomena of the Blair Witch Project. In a found footage/documentary style we have a little horror mystery that didn’t hit it quite right. The most impressive part of this movie is the budget. The people who produced this movie did so on a shoestring budget of approximately $900.00 (according to IMDb). The movie starts out as a documentary about the ‘Jersey Devil’ in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. The local cable access trio sets out with all their gear in an effort to document the search for this mythical beast. The acting is amateur but enthusiastic. The technical work with this digital only production shows promise. The plot is interesting but there are a few holes. As the movie progresses, it becomes more of a narrated drama about the characters. Only one of the trio makes his way out of the Pine Barrens. When the bodies are found the questions turn to the lone survivor, until the missing footage is found… The ending is intriguing even if it breaks the ‘found footage’ premise of the plot. All in all it’s an interesting film, but it doesn’t quite deliver in terms of entertainment. FYI: This movie was actually made before the Blair Witch Project. I give it a 2 out of 5.

Summary:

Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime

Year: 2013

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Demian Bichir, Marlon Wayans, Michael Rapaport

Director: Paul Feig

My Review: The Heat - 2013 (comedy, action, crime) A laugh a minute. It’s a buddy-cop movie in the best sense of the genre. Sandra Bullock plays Special Agent Sarah Ashburn and Melissa McCarthy plays Detective Shannon Mullins. Bullock is the by-the-book, no-nonsense, uptight FBI agent, and McCarthy is the down-to-earth, no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is inner city cop. The writing is witty and the dialog is outstanding. The best part is the casting. Bullock is sent to Boston in order to uncover the identity of some elusive drug lord. The story is some silly plot about a Russian gangster drug kingpin… None of that matters though, as the only thing you’re watching five minutes in is the interaction between McCarthy and Bullock as they play off each other. This very funny movie is well worth the watch if you simply ignore the plot and focus on these two laugh-masters playing cops. I give this movie a 4 out of 5.

Summary: Sarah Ashburn, an FBI agent, is extremely ambitious and has her eye on a promotion, but she doesn't get along with her co-workers. She is sent to Boston to uncover the identity of an elusive drug lord, Mr. Larkin, by tracking down his proxy, Rojas, and is told that she'll have a good shot at the promotion if she finds Larkin. When she arrives in Boston, she learns that Larkin has been eliminating his competition and taking over their operations. She learns that Rojas is in Boston PD custody and goes to see him to ask him what he knows about Larkin, but is warned that the cop who arrested Rojas, Shannon Mullins, is very territorial, and she is not exactly sociable. When the two meet they don't get along. When Mullins learns why Ashburn is in Boston, she decides to find Larkin herself. Ashburn is told by her boss to work with Mullins, but it won't be easy because Ashburn does things by the book while Mullins does things her way.

Genre: Drama

Year: 2010

Country: UK, USA

Rating:

Starring: Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Suzanne Rico, Kent Shocknek

Director: John Wells

My Review: The Company Men - 2010 (drama) Written and directed by John Wells, starring Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones and others. In this movie (set in 2010), Bobby Walker (played by Ben Affleck) is downsized from his cushy corporate management job at GTX. He loses his home, has to move in with family, and work for his brother in-law. His life-style changes drastically and he’s forced to start over. The blow to his self-worth is the hardest of all. This film was very difficult to watch as I had just come off of Furlough, and my continued employment doesn’t seem tied to my skill, knowledge or value as an employee. It’s true that corporations live forever, don’t give a damn about employees or their families, and would just as soon fire you for a cheaper worker any day of the week. The story isn’t entirely dark, as its hard to keep a man like Bobby Walker down for long - After all; he’s got ‘Faith, Courage and Enthusiasm’. An excellent cast but a story that’s a bit slow, a bit depressing, and personally difficult to watch right now. I give this movie a 3 out of 5.

Summary: When the GTX Corporation must cut jobs to improve the company's balance sheet during the 2010 recession, thousands of employees will take the hit, like Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck). Bobby learns the real life consequences of not having a job. Not only does he see a change to his family lifestyle, and the loss of his home, but also his feelings of self-worth.