Movie Reviews April 1, 2009
Published: April 1, 2009
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ANITA O'DAY: THE LIFE OF A JAZZ SINGER
3 1/2 stars.
A lively documentary portrait of the late, great jazz singer, a hardboiled woman who lived far into her 80s and whose rhythmic vocalizations rank right up there with Billie Holiday and Etta James. 1 hr. 32 No MPAA rating (profanity, adult themes) — Steven ReaAdvertisement
BALLAST
3 stars.
Quiet indie film about the struggle of a suicide's identical twin, estranged wife and son, knocked to the mat by grief, to find their feet and their wind. 1 hr. 36 No MPAA rating (Drugs, violence) — Carrie RickeyBEDTIME STORIES
2 1/2 stars.
Adam Sandler stars as a goofball maintenance man who regales his nephew and niece with fantasies — far-fetched elements of which turn out to come true. A sloppy, choppy but affably nutty family comedy, with a few icky gags guaranteed to please the sub-teen set. 1 hr. 39 PG (gross humor, adult themes) — Steven ReaCHANDNI CHOWK TO CHINA
1 1/2 stars.
This sprawling slapstick martial arts spoof and romantic melodrama laced with song and dance numbers — a typical Bollywood throw-in-the-kitchen-sink spectacle — is entertainingly goofy for about 30 minutes. And then, for the next two hours-plus, it's agony. 2 hrs. 48 PG-13 (cartoonish violence, martial arts, adult themes) — Steven ReaCHE
3 stars.
Benicio Del Toro is fiercely indrawn and mesmerizing as Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the Argentine physician-turned-guerilla fighter and posthumous counterculture icon, in Steven Soderbergh's almost Zen-like two-part epic, set during the Cuban Revolution and the doomed attempt to replicate its success in 1960s Bolivia. 4 hrs. 17 No MPAA rating (violence, profanity, adult themes) — Steven ReaCIAO
2 stars.
Earnest and restrained indie film about two men, mourning the passing of a loved one, who wonder if there is love after death. 1 hr. 27 R (discreet sexual themes) — Carrie RickeyCONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC
2 stars.
Cutup Isla Fisher is a stitch in this “Devil Wears Prada” knockoff about the overspender who lands a column for a business magazine writing about the perils of overspending. With Hugh Dancy, John Goodman and Joan Cusack. 1 hr. 40 PG (mild language, thematic elements) — Carrie RickeyCORALINE
3 1/2 stars.
Be careful what you wish for, suggests Henry Selick's unnervingly fine (and primal) stop-action animation about a very curious girl, because you just might get it. Coraline (voice of Dakota Fanning) wants her preoccupied parents to close their laptops, open the tobox and not serve vegetarian glop for supper. When she finds parents who will grant her wishes, she realizes that it comes at a price she can't afford. From the Neil Gaiman novella. 1 hr. 41 PG (psychologically intense, for those 10 and above who like their adventures dark) — Carrie RickeyCROSSING OVER
2 1/2 stars.
A feverish, multistory affair cut from the same cloth as Crash and Traffic. In Southern California, immigrants legal and otherwise struggle to get green cards and citizenship, while gatekeepers try to enforce strict rules. Starring the excellent Harrison Ford as an immigration policeman, Cliff Curtis as his partner, Ray Liotta as an immigration adjudicator and Summer Bishil as a student whose pro-Muslim speech in class arouses the suspicion of the Feds. 1 hr. 53 R (sex, violence, profanity) — Carrie RickeyTHE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
3 stars.
Brad Pitt stars as a man who ages backward, beginning in 1918 and heading into the 21st century. An epic Gumpian yarn, with Cate Blanchett as the love of his life, and fine turns from Taraji P. Henson and Tilda Swinton. 2 hrs. 47 PG-13 (sex, profanity, violence, adult themes) — Steven ReaDEFIANCE
3 stars.
Ed Zwick's stereotype-smashing account of World War II Jews, the battling Bielski brothers of Belarus, who are not victims of genocide but victors against it. Starring Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber. 2 hrs. 17 R (brutal war violence) — Carrie RickeyDONKEY PUNCH
2 1/2 stars.
Handsome hedonists go yachting — DV cam, party drugs and champagne in tow — in this two-thirds thrilling, one-third exasperating “sex, drugs and kitchen utensils” thriller. It's “Dead Calm” meets “Very Bad Things.” 1 hr. 39 R (violence, sex, nudity, profanity, drugs, adult themes) — Steven ReaDOUBT
3 stars.
Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman face off in John Patrick Shanley's crisp, cogent adaptation of his Pulitzer- and Tony-winning play about a priest accused of molesting a student in a Catholic school in 1964 New York. Riveting performances, even if the bigger issues about the nature of truth get lost in the details. 1 hr. 44 PG-13 (adult themes) — Steven ReaDUPLICITY
2 1/2 stars
. Clive Owen and Julia Roberts are corporate spies with money and romance on their minds in this riffy, overly intricate caper, from “Michael Clayton” writer/director Tony Gilroy. Swanky locales — from Dubai to Zurich — but little suspense. 2 hrs. 08 PG-13 (profanity, adult themes) — Steven ReaEDEN
2 stars.
A low-key, gloomy Irish marital portrait, with a husband and wife preparing for their 10th anniversary in sad, separate ways. The acting is earnest, but the dysfunctional marriage cliches run rampant. 1 hr. 24 No MPAA rating (sex, profanity, adult themes) — Steven ReaTHE EDGE OF LOVE
1 1/2 stars.
Arty, pseudo-literary account of the menage-y goings on between the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, his drunken wife (Sienna Miller) and his young girlfriend (Keira Knightley) during the days of the London Blitz. 1 hr. 50 No MPAA rating (profanity, sex, violence, adult themes) — Steven ReaFANBOYS
2 stars.
Despite an amusing premise — five “Star Wars” obsessives plot to break into George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch — the jokes aren't there, even if cameo-ing Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Seth Rogen and William Shatner are. May the Force be with you, because the laughs will not. 1 hr. 30 PG-13 (profanity, sex, drugs, adult themes) — Steven ReaFEAR(S) OF THE DARK
3 1/2 stars.
A brilliantly creepy compendium of six animated pieces drawn and quartered by some of the leading lights of the world of comics and graphic novels, including Blutch, Charles Burns and Marie Caillou. 1 hr. 25 No MPAA rating (violent images, nudity, adult themes) — Steven ReaFRIDAY THE 13TH
2 stars.
Mark Niespel, who made an impressive version of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” in 2003, delivers a solid entry in an otherwise ho-hum series of slasher flicks. This is a lean, mean, highly-efficient and rapid-moving scare-fest which packs plenty of gory whoop. But not much else. 1 hr. 37 R (gore, nudity, profanity, explicit violence, Jason Vorhees) — Tirdad DerakhshaniFRONTRUNNERS
3 stars.
A funny, fascinating documentary about the presidential election — as in the president of the student body at New York's super-competitive Stuyvesant High School. 1 hr. 21 No MPAA rating (adult themes) — Steven ReaFROST/NIXON
3 stars.
Frank Langella is close to brilliant as the disgraced 37th president, and Michael Sheen is fine, albeit shallow, as the British chat show host who delivered the historic 1977 interview. Ron Howard “opens up” Peter Morgan's stage play. Not an epic gladitorial smackdown, but there's tension there. 2 hrs. 02 R (profanity, adult themes) — Steven ReaFROZEN RIVER
4 stars.
Melissa Leo and Misty Upham co-star in this urgent and incomparably moving first feature from Courtney Hunt about the survival, fortitude and unexpected deliverance of two single mothers. 1 hr. 37 R (language) — Carrie RickeyA GIRL CUT IN TWO
3 1/2 stars.
A cool study of erotic longing, misguided love and class warfare in the civilized spheres of French society, from the nimble master of suspense, director Claude Chabrol. 1 hr. 54 No MPAA rating (sex, violence, adult themes) — Steven ReaGOMORRAH
3 1/2 stars.
A searing, documentary-like adaptation of Roberto Saviano's best-selling expose about the Naples mafia. It's tough, compelling stuff: a frightening portrait of corruption, cynicism, intimidation, greed and violence. 2 hr. 17 No MPAA rating (violence, drugs, profanity, nudity, adult themes) — Steven ReaTHE GREAT BUCK HOWARD
2 1/2 stars.
John Malkovich shines as a show-biz mentalist entertaining half-filled theaters in second-tier towns in this gently funny, nostalgia-tinged portrait. Colin Hanks' turn as the magician's ill-equipped new road manager muddies the water. But when Malkovich is front and center, things are fine. 1 hr. 27 PG (profanity, adult themes) — Steven ReaTHE GROCER'S SON
3 stars.
Not the touristy Provence of Peter Mayle, but this small, seductive movie set in the south of France offers its own simple pleasures. The story of an adrift young man (Nicolas Cazale) reluctantly returned to his childhood home is unpretentious, charming. 1 hr. 36 No MPAA rating (sex, nudity, profanity, adult themes) — Steven ReaHAPPY-GO-LUCKY
3 1/2 stars.
Mike Leigh's odd, ingenious portrait of a cheery London school teacher, a 30-year-old single gal played with remarkable depth and indomitability by Sally Hawkins. With Eddie Marson in an unforgettable role as a seething, paranoiac driving instructor. In many ways, the film is the flipside of Leigh's ‘90s mastwerwork, “Naked.” 1 hr. 58 R (profanity, adult themes) — Steven ReaHE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU
2 1/2 stars.
Diverting dating comedy inspired by the self-help book. With an A-list cast that includes Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly and Scarlett Johansson.
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