Up In The Air
George Clooney stars in this light weight drama, as a travelling businessman who spends all of his time in airplanes and airport hotels, and likes it that way. George really has the whole system down pat. He’s an expert at ‘up grades’, special deals at hotels, and shuffling credit cards. His ultimate goal is to join the exclusive 10.000.000 air-mile club. However, when George’s company decides to conduct their future business via video conferencing, and keep him permanently based at headquarters, George has to suddenly re-evaluate his current unusual way of life. Written and directed by Jason Reitman, the movie is an entertaining glimpse into a very different lifestyle. George uses his famous lackadaisical debonair charm quite effectively.
It’s Complicated
Written and directed by Nancy Meyers, this movie is an excellent comedy for adults. Meryl Streep plays a woman who has been happily divorced from her husband, Alec Baldwin, for over ten years, but, when she travels to New York to attend her youngest son’s college graduation, she finds herself staying in the same hotel as Alec. Things happen, and, all of a sudden, Meryl is conducting an affair with her own ex-husband. Meryl is put into the position of the ‘other woman’, which she kind of enjoys. It’s complicated! Nancy Meyers has provided a delightful script, and her style of direction is to sit back and let Meryl and Alec do their thing. Of course, Meryl is superb in her role, but, it is Alec Baldwin who comes as a big surprise. Alec plays one of the ‘heels’ he does so well, yet, this one has much depth and humor.
The Lovely Bones
The latest movie from Peter Jackson, the creator of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, is amazing. It is an extraordinary mix of ‘serial-killer thriller’, ‘ghost story’, and ‘surreal fantasy’. It is not fair to tell you too much about the plot. I don’t want to spoil it for you. But, briefly, when a young girl is murdered, she watches over her family from heaven, and guides them through the investigation into her death. The movie is very atmospheric, incredibly beautiful to look at, and it contains excellent performances from Saoirse Ronan, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Mark Wahlberg and Stanley Tucci.
Whip It
This movie is of interest, as it marks the directorial debut of actress Drew Barrymore, who has been in movies since the age of seven, when she first appeared in ‘E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial’ (1982). Obviously, over the years, Drew has learnt something about movie-making, for her first feature film is rather good. Drew appears to be pretty adept at both ‘in front’ and ‘behind’ the camera. The movie concerns a rebellious teenage girl who defies her mother, and walks out of the Junior Beauty Pageant circuit, to join a Roller Derby team. Finding camaraderie with the rowdy team members, the girl discovers her own form of confidence and feminism. The movie stars Ellen Page, who also started her movie career at an early age, and Drew has given herself a nice little cameo role as a roller-skating bimbo. Plus, Drew brings in her pal Juliette Lewis, as a roller-skating bitch, and she steals the movie.
The Time Traveler’s Wife
Based on a book by Audrey Niffenegger, and directed by Robert Schwentke, this movie stars Eric Bana as a librarian with a rare genetic disorder. When under duress he disappears and goes hurtling through time. Although he can vanish frequently, and for lengthy periods of time, he still tries to maintain a relationship with a woman whom he met as a young girl, and their love has blossomed as she has grown into adulthood. The movie is hard to categorize. It is a love story, yet, technically, it is also a fantasy, though there is a certain amount of embedded realism that defies a surreal interpretation. No matter what you make of it, nevertheless, you should still find it very captivating.
The Messenger
Having returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, and with three months to go before re-enlistment, an American soldier is detailed to the Army’s Casualty Notification Service. Along with his superior officer, he is given the task of informing loved ones of the fallen soldiers. Devastated by this job, the soldier’s emotional detachment starts to dissolve when he is attracted to a widow to whom he has just delivered the news of her husband’s death. Directed by Oren Moverman, and with great performances from Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson and Samantha Morton, this is a very powerful movie.
Fame
The original ‘Fame’ was directed by Alan Parker in 1980, and it was an entertaining look at life in New York’s High School for the Performing Arts. In this school aspiring students sharpened their talents to make it big in show business. Ironically, none of the cast in Parker’s film went on to become big stars in real-life. No-one from this bad remake will either. The movie stars ‘no-one’ and it is directed by ‘no-body’. Of course, there are lots of songs and dance routines, if you like that kind of thing, but, the movie is tedious.
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Michael Douglas stars as a corrupt District Attorney in this dreary courtroom drama. The movie is guaranteed to put almost anyone asleep in less than twenty minutes. Michael could have been sleep walking through the movie!
