Many Things

I saw this movie last weekend and loved it. I rarely enjoy mainstream comedies anymore, but this one gave me lots of laughs.

There is not a dull moment in Sacha Baron Cohen's brilliant comedy, Bruno . Cohen's style of comedy is not appealing to everyone, and some people "just plain don't get it." I love off-beat humor, especially humor that pushes the envelope. Bruno does more than push the envelope. It licks it all over, stamps, and mails it. I am aware that some gay folks don't like this movie for some reason or other. I haven't read their criticisms because I don't care. The character of Bruno is an extreme caricature that makes fun of stereotypes. He uses outrageous situations and dialog to make fun of homophobes, "ex-gay" charlatans, and rednecks. Whatever anyone else wants to read into this movie, go for it. That's my take. Two fists up. Here's the restricted trailer .

I started using closed captioning on a fairly regular basis about two years ago. Chalk it up to me getting older and hard of hearing or all the people speaking in whispers on TV shows. What is it with Jack Bauer on 24 always talking in a whisper? Does he have a sore throat? Did this whispering naturally lead to the whispering shows: Ghost Whisperer and Dog Whisperer ? If I were actually deaf and fully needed closed captioning, I would immediately face a big problem. Most closed captioning appears at the bottom of the screen, where most networks and stations are displaying other info.: logos, promos for other shows, alerts, etc. You cannot read it in such cases, which happens too frequently. I wrote to one of my local stations and asked them to consider displaying CC at the top of their screen. No response. No change. I guess when I challenge their license renewal, they will wish they had listened. There is a bonus to using CC, which are the secrets I refer to in the title of this po...

I read Harlan Coben 's riveting novel, Tell No One , a few years ago. It was a real page-turner for me. While I think the novel is more suspenseful and has a more complex plot, the movie has enough suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat, uh couch. It was just released on DVD and I watched it today. The novel is set in the US, but the French film is set in France. The change doesn't negatively affect the plot, but it does mean the movie has English subtitles, which did negatively affect me. Sometimes the subtitles were just too fast, and I had to pause and reverse the DVD to see a scene again. The cast is little known outside the US, but the acting is good quality. I recommend this film to anyone who loves suspense films with both action and a love interest plus the bonus of a surprise ending. It is two hours long if you don't watch the outtakes too. I did. Grab the popcorn and " Mash Play, Glenn ." Sorry, that is an inside joke for a few special friends. ;-...

Sam Mendes ' Revolutionary Road is about how dreams for a good life are often thrust aside for the illusionary security of the moment and with unknown and unexpected consequences. Set in post-WWII America, the film is about a young woman struggling with dreams to get out of a stiffling suburban life she can no longer stand. Kate Winslet plays April Wheeler, a former amateur actress who now finds herself the mother of two boys and dreams of a fresh start for herself as a secretary in post-war Paris and for her husband, Frank, played by Leonardo DiCaprio , to get out of the rat race and "find himself." April convinces Frank and plans are made. All goes according to plan until two unexpected events change everything, and then their life becomes a runaway train. If I reveal more, I would have to give a spoiler alert, and this review does not contain spoilers. Kate Winslet gives an excellent performance, for which she won a Golden Globe. However, I have to agree with her Bes...

Prayers for Bobby will premier on the Lifetime channel on Jan. 24 at 9 pm et/pt. It encores Jan. 25 at 8 pm and Jan. 27 at 9 pm et/pt. Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Sigourney Weaver stars in this emotional true story about a 1970s religious suburban housewife and mother who struggles to accept her young son Bobby being gay. What happens to Bobby is tragic and causes Mary to question her faith; ultimately this mom changes her views in ways that she never could have imagined. Also starring: Ryan Kelley ("Mean Creek"), Henry Czerny ("The Tudors"), Dan Butler ("Frasier") and Susan Ruttan ("L.A. Law"), Austin Nichols ("John From Cincinnati"), Carly Schroeder ("Mean Creek"), Scott Bailey ("Guiding Light"), and newcomers Shannon Eagen and Rebecca Louise Miller. Based on the book “Prayers for Bobby” by Leroy Aarons.

Although now I am too poor to see very many movies, last year I did manage to see all of the Oscar nominees for Best Motion Picture of the Year: “ The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers “ Frost/Nixon ” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers “ Milk ” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers “ The Reader ” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nominees to be determined “ Slumdog Millionaire ” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production, Christian Colson, Producer My reviews of each of these fine films appear on this blog. Click the movies or film tag to view all reviews. I usually have a favorite, but all of these movies a...

If you follow my blog with any degree of regularity, you know that I am a movie fan nut. I have been so since I was a child, but now I am choosier about which movies I go to the theaters to watch, in an effort to save money and time. I get tips from friends, such as Sharon (a former film teacher) and from checking the star ratings of Roger Ebert and other critics. I rarely read reviews before I go to see a film. I just stick with quickly looking at the star ratings. I prefer not to see film trailers either, but those are harder to avoid. My goal is to know just the least information possible about a movie but expecting that I will be seeing a high caliber film. I want the movie to tell me a story without me knowing what is coming. With the advice of friends and my own research, I typically do see most of the award nominees for Best Picture before the awards ceremonies. This is true for both the Golden Globes and the Oscars. With the Golden Globes, the only Best Motion Picture, Drama ...

I'm seen seven movies in the theaters in the past two weeks. I believe that is a personal record. I blame it on so many good movies being released in December every year. Instead of my usual review of individual films, I'm going to quickly review three films. Don't let the shortness of my reviews make you think I did not like these films. Quite the opposite. I loved and recommend all three. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is as much a homage to New Orleans as it is an wonderful and well-told yarn. You almost want to believe it. It is a long movie, but I was never bored, and Brad Pitt gave a marvelous performance. The film also deserves recognition for special effects and cinematography. The Reader is a tale about lust and young love interwoven with the history of post-WWII Germany, Nazi war crimes, punishment, pride, and guilt. Kate Winslet gave her most outstanding performance ever, although I have not seen Revolutionary Road yet. It is a complicated film emotiona...

My buddy, Sharon, told me not to miss this one, and I usually like her film choices. It was everything I expected and more. This film is likely to fetch an Oscar nominee as Best Picture and to get Danny Boyle a nomination as Best Director. I hope it wins both. The improbable story, set in the slums and horrible poverty of Bombay ( Mumbai ), centers around two orphaned brothers, one of whom falls in love with an orphaned girl. Separated from the girl in childhood, the rest of the younger boy's life is centered around finding his "love." Ultimately, he gets a chance to go on India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire so that she might see him and they be reunited. The film is visually stunning, sometimes including images and scenes where you may avert your gaze. One couple in front of me almost walked out during one such scene. But if you stay with it, you will leave the theater feeling good. Everything doesn't end happily for everyone, but the film is about...

If you like war movies without too much gore and plenty of suspense, then Valkyrie is a good choice. This movie is unlikely to win many awards, but it does entertain. The only acting role that stood out for me was Tom Wilkinson in a supporting role as General Friedrich Fromm . The movie is about the failed July 20 (1944) plot to assassinate Hitler.

I had been warned by critics that this movie was a disappointment, but sometimes there are movies we all just have to see. I made a mistake with this one. I love the original film with Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal . I HATE this movie. There is virtually no character development. The only character you end up caring about is Jacob ( Jaden Smith ), the little boy. There were a lot of good actors in this film, but they did not show it or were not given large enough roles. Keanu Reeves was dead. This is one of the worst alien performances I've ever seen by anyone. Jennifer Connelly gave a decent try as the female lead, but the movie was so bad, it did not stand out. Kathy Bates failed to shine as the Secretary of Defense. Granted, it was a supporting part, but it was a terrible job. John Cleese and Jon Hamm were given such small parts, they didn't have a chance. The special effects were not very good either. There are many films that have done better in this regard. Fin...

I hate it when most of the really, really good movies come out in December. Is it really because the people who vote on the Oscars have a short memory or don't keep a list? In any event, I had to see Doubt and I had to do it before Christmas, when it is still playing at only one theater in all of metro Atlanta. Yeah, I fought the traffic, but what a delight of a film. John Patrick Shanley 's well-directed film (from his award-winning stage play) is about doubt versus certainty. Set in the bleak winter of 1964 at St. Nicholas Catholic School in the Bronx, the movie pits the very strict principal, Sister Aloysius ( Meryl Streep ) against the new priest, Father Flynn ( Philip Seymour Hoffman ). Aloysius doesn't seem to like the more accessible, loving, and good-hearted priest from the start, and when there is just the least bit of evidence that would incriminate the Father with "you know what," the Sister goes for the jugular. The Sister is immediately certain that ...

I have been waiting for Frost/Nixon since I first saw the theatrical trailer. Having lived through the whole period of Nixon hell, I was eager to be reminded of a President even more corrupt than George W. Bush. I was never a big fan of David Frost , but I did remember how Frost evoked from Nixon an admission of criminal actions as President, something Nixon had never admitted. Before, he had only made "mistakes." Ron Howard 's brilliantly directed film, based on the Peter Morgan 's London and Broadway stage play, boils down to the partly fictionalized duel between Frost ( Michael Sheen ) and Nixon ( Frank Langella ). Frost was not a journalist, but instead a talk-show host. His aim was to take Nixon down in his series of interviews with the former President, and by doing so, propel himself into stardom. He risked his career and fortune and finally succeeded brilliantly, much to the surprise of most people around him and journalists around the globe. Langella's p...

Harvey Milk is a major figure in the LGBTQ movement in the United States. However, when I have talked about this film to some people, both straight and gay, I sometimes get blank stares, or someone asks me, “Who’s Harvey Milk?” "Harvey Milk" - ( Official title of this movie is "Milk") - "Harvey Milk" (1930-1978) was an activist and politician, and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in America; in 1977, he was voted to the city supervisors' board of San Francisco. The following year, both he and the city's mayor George Moscone were shot to death by another city supervisor, Dan White. Harvey Milk, the man, was previously the subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary feature "The Times of Harvey Milk" (1984), directed by Rob Epstein and produced by Richard Schmiechen. Oscar nominated director Gus Van Sant's "Milk" is the first non-documentary feature to explore the man's ...

I missed this funny and delightful film in the theaters but just caught it Friday night from a Netflix rental. I gave it a rare 5 star rating. If you have children, watch it with them. It's a lovely film.

I heard David Bender substituting for Rachel Maddow on Air America tonight. People who had seen Gus Van Sant 's Milk were calling in with raves for the movie. Some said there was applause or standing ovations at the end. David Bender said it was a film we must see in the theaters instead of DVD for the group experience. He also said this was Sean Penn's best ever performance. Roger Ebert has given the movie 4 stars. I had planned to go last weekend but will not miss it this weekend. I'll post a review later.

I am currently working on two series of articles, one on my personal religious journey and the other making a case against the so-called "Fair Tax." I expect both subjects will include installments written over the next six months or more. I hope at least one topic gets your interest. In the meantime, I'll continue with other posts, such as movie reviews, photos, and other topics. Speaking of movies, I've added some new links to movie sites, one of which offers free viewing of independent, foreign, and art house films. Check out the links in the sidebar. Stay tuned.

I watched a screening of Special , starring Michael Rapaport , on Saturday that I had recorded on HDNET . I'm not very familiar with the star, other than his appearance in this season's Prison Break TV series, but he did a outstanding acting job in this quirky Indie film. Rapaport plays Les, a lonely, mild-mannered, mentally-challenged parking enforcement officer, who takes part in a medical trial for a new drug, named Special, which is supposed to help people eliminate self-doubt. Apparently Les is the only study subject to have a psychotic break. He indeed sheds all self-doubt and starts to believe he can levitate, go through solid walls, and make people and objects disappear. He soon decides he needs a uniform, since his comic book heroes have them. What is a superhero with out a costume anyway? The result is a costume that reveals it was part of a budget movie, but it is funny too as Les to me resembles a character out of a Mad Max movie. The boots are a special touch, bu...

Tomas Alfredson's vampire film, Let the Right One In ( Låt den rätte komma in) , is an interesting take on an old theme, except this movie has a Swedish winter backdrop (perhaps white snow for purity and cold for dead) and tells the story of Eli, a forever 12yo vampire and her actual 12yo human boy friend, Oskar. Oskar is a thin, pale boy, who is bullied in school. Eli tells Oskar how to stop the bullying and promises to come to his help if her advice does not work. It takes Oskar awhile to understand that Eli is a vampire, but he is already smitten with her by then. The two child actors do an excellent job and the story grabs you from the start. The film is really a charming childhood love story, except for all the blood and violence, but then it is a vampire film too.

My friend Michele and I went to see Changeling on Sunday. Here is my review. Clint Eastwood’s Changeling is perhaps the best movie I have seen in all of 2008. The movie, based on a true story in Los Angeles beginning in 1928, stars Angelina Jolie who plays Christine Collins , a mother whose 9-year old son goes missing. The police return the wrong boy, who states repeatedly that he is the missing boy, but any mother knows her own son. The movie depicts the struggle between a mother trying to prove her son is still missing and the police who cover up the facts. The backdrop of the movie involves police corruption, probably widespread throughout the US in that era. John Malkovich portrays the Rev. Gustav Briegleb , who is leading a radio campaign against said corruption in LA. He learns of Christine’s story and becomes her advocate. Angelina Jolie gives what is arguably her best performance in a motion picture, and will certainly be a nominee for Best Actress this year. Malkovich play...

I try to avoid Halloween anymore. Part of it is being an old geezer and part of it is that Ron died three years ago on Halloween. So after work Friday, I went to see Ridley Scott's new movie, Body of Lies with Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe . Ridley Scott rarely directs anything really great, but he does know how to entertain. Body of Lies is an action-packed movie set in the Middle East, about terrorism...can you believe it!? The plot is a bit thin and the acting is average. I was rarely left guessing or being impressed. But for a couple of hours, I didn't have to remember that day three years ago.

No spoilers. Safe to read. If Josh Brolin is overlooked for the Best Actor nod in Oliver Stone 's W. , I will be surprised. His performance was amazing. The movie as a whole was below my expectations of what to expect in an Oliver Stone film, but it wasn't bad. Stone and the film may get nominations, but I don't see either winning. Brolin does not look that much like Bush to me. Brolin has somewhat of a horse face, a bit too long for the real W. What he lacks in resemblance, he makes up big time in nailing at least the public view of W. He plays W. as the misunderstood and under-performing son who was a disappointment to his family. Perhaps he still is, Stone would have us believe. Kudos for other performances, a few of which may get Supporting Actor nominations: Ellen Burstyn as Barbara Bush, Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush, James Cromwell as George H. W. Bush, Richard Dreyfuss as a caricature of Dick Cheney, Stacy Keach as Earle Hudd, and Jeffrey Wright as Colin Po...

This isn't really a review of the movie, just my experience seeing it. To follow up on my previous posting about Religulous , let me just say, "Don't miss it in the theaters." Laughing with the crowd makes it so much funnier. And laughing, we all did. There was rarely a minute of the movie that went by without some laughter. At times, it was so loud and intense that I missed a couple of laugh lines that followed. I will see this movie again, but will wait for it on HBO so that I can hear it all. I was surprised in a couple of ways. First, it was showing at a nearby suburban Atlanta theater. I guess I only expected it at the art theaters, but there it was in red meat Republican Cobb County, Georgia. Secondly, it was screened at a large multiplex in a fairly large auditorium, which was more than half full. So much for my stereotypes of my neighbors. Of course, we are all going to Hell for seeing it...you just know it. Oh, one other thing. If you are some sort of religio...

Religulous is the movie to see this weekend. Based on watching the trailer, this should be funnier than his HBO show or any other comedy released this weekend. Or is this a comedy? Hmmmm. Roger Ebert gives it 3 1/2 stars, which is usually a good sign that entertainment awaits. Religulous The punch line is "apocalypse" By Roger Ebert I'm going to try to review Bill Maher's "Religulous" without getting into religion. Is that OK with everybody? Good. I don't want to fan the flames of a holy war. The movie is about organized religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mormonism, TV evangelism and even Scientology, with detours into pagan cults and ancient Egypt. Bill Maher, host, writer and debater, believes they are all crazy. He fears they could lead us prayerfully into mutual nuclear doom. He doesn't get around to Hinduism or Buddhism, but he probably doesn't approve of them, either.

One of the things I love about DISH Network is my access to HDNET . This channel has some good programming, but my favorite is the sneak preview each month of an art house film before it hits the theaters. This month's film was Humboldt County . Directed by Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs, the film revolves around a medical student, Peter (played by Jeremy Strong ) who is on the verge of medical residency when his father and medical professor, Dr. Hadley (played by Peter Bogdanovich) announces Peter's failure of the class. Peter wanders to a bar and is picked up Bogart (played by Fairuza Balk ) a free spirit who deflowers the young man and takes him on a road trip to her roots in Humboldt County, CA. Her roots are of the hemp variety, for this is marijuana growing country. The various extended family includes Rosie (wonderfully played by Frances Conroy ), Jack (well played by Brad Dourif ), Max (played by Chris Messina ), and a host of others. Of special note is the role of...

I admire most good actors for their craft, but Paul Newman was even more special. By all accounts, he was a wonderful husband to Joanne Woodward, in a long-term marriage of more than 50 years rarely seen in Hollywood or any other place in America these days. His daughters put out this statement: Our father was a rare symbol of selfless humility, the last to acknowledge what he was doing was special. Intensely private, he quietly succeeded beyond measure in impacting the lives of so many with his generosity. Paul Newman donated more than $220 million through the sales of his food products . In 1988 he started the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp , a residential summer camp for seriously ill children. Now there are 11 camps around the world, that have helped over 135,000 children for free. He was also a delegate to the 1978 UN conference on disarmament. Rest in peace. You were loved and will be missed.