This is a really good movie that won't be seen by as many people that would like it, because they are of the Caucasian persuasion and it's an "African-American" movie. My wife and I see a lot of movies. We judge a movie by many things, but skin color doesn't play into it. This movie is a story of a troubled marriage, a commentary on the meaning and need for faith, and a helluva good mystery/detective story. Blair Underwood plays David Ames, history professor and upper middle class mover and shaker, who has the ear of the mayor. He carries the role off on just the right note. Sharon Leal plays his wife Kari, beautiful partner, stay-at-home mom of nearly 7 year old daughter Mikayla , and perfect hostess/ homemaker. There seem to be some secrets however, and then Mikayla is kidnapped. Who took her? Why? Does it have to do with the secret past of Kari, that threatens to tear apart their marriage and cost them their daughter? Leal plays Kari as she starts to disintegrate, with notes of despair, anger, fear that are very convincing. Pam Grier plays Detective Barrick who is in charge of the investigation. She has one of the best lines in any movie I've seen recently, "That's Detective Bitch to you!" Nicoye Banks plays an FBI agent with an old connection to Kari. T.D. Jakes is there as the man of faith. Watch Nichole Behair as Beth, and Patrick Weathers in a role you won't forget. Wrap this all in shots and sets that take you into New Orleans upscale and down, and beautiful cinematography. This is a damn good movie most people won't see. I'ts only in one theater in all of the Cleveland area.
Reviews
12 Reviews
The Vow
(2012)
If They Had Stuck With The Truth, They Would Have A Much Better Movie
12 March 2012
Warning: Spoilers
I went knowing this was "based on a true story". Now that can mean anything from a movie like "Apollo 13" to "The Titanic" to "They Died With Their Boots On". In short as Forrest might put it, "Movies are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get." I figured a romantic drama with a good ending. Rachel McAdams plays Paige, Channing Tatum her husband Leo. They meet, fall in love, marry. Typical romcom stuff. Then the accident, after which Paige can not remember the last five years of her life, including being married to Leo. It is a bit predictable, even though conflict is introduced and by end things work out pretty much as suspected. I figured I would give the movie 3 stars, as I thought both McAdams and Tatum did a creditable job with what they had, and Jessica Lange and Sam Neil were good as Paige's parents but I had my doubts about the situation. Okay- now I'm going to ask for some time and an experiment from you. First take some fresh oranges-enough to squeeze and make a glass of oj. Got that? OK, now take the oj and run it through a water purifier filter of some sort. I'll wait. Get it completely clear. Now take that water and add orange food coloring, artificial orange flavoring and some ascorbic acid. Okay- all set. Which would you rather drink? If you picked the second drink, this review is done for you. Thanks for reading this far. If you would rather drink the oj, then skip seeing the movie and read the account of what really happened. I read a Reader's Digest version last night after the movie (rather like canned condensed oj) and was blown away by how powerful the real story was and how it could have been portrayed. I won't go into the real account here, except to say that there were a married man and woman who were in a car accident that caused her amnesia. Other than that NOTHING is anything like the movie. The title of the movie comes from the self written vows that Paige and Leo have at their wedding, done by a friend. This helps Leo keep going. But we never quite get why, and the movie has a major change from reality that really trashes the concept. In the real world the couple are very strongly Christian and believe very firmly in their wedding vows. This and their faith sustains them. I think the movie was watered down because I think they thought no one would go see a romantic drama based on strong faith, especially Christianity, right now. That's my take on it. I'm not "Christian" but I have no problems with people being faithful. Rated PG for mild language, sexual situations, partial nudity. Okay for you ladies, Channing Tatum's butt. Don't take the kids and bore the crap out of them.
The Grey
(2011)
Damn....Good.... Movie
24 January 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Warning! This is not a date movie, nor a Disney nature pic. Do not take your kids under 16 or so (maybe a mature 14 or 15). Do not take your grandmother. Do not take your faint-of-heart girlfriend. But if you want a kick ass action movie that does not take the usual course of 'action' flicks and, as some of the above reviews state, a movie that will stay with you a while this is it. This movie does not have car chases, nor 'bad guys', so don't go looking for those. This is a movie that gets into your head. Liam Neeson is one of my favorite actors in almost anything he's in, but this role seems tailored to him. Ottway is a broken man at the start of the movie, as he himself says in his first few lines. He works at the end of the world doing a dirty job to protect the scum that have washed up with him there. Yet there is steel in him that only tremendous adversity can bring out. In this movie the cold and frozen landscape is as much a character as any of the supporting cast, and on a par with the wolves to challenge any man. I once saw Neeson as Ethan Frome and I thought that was a bleak, cold landscape. This movie is several degrees bleaker and colder. The supporting cast are great as a batch of misfit men thrust into a situation they have never had any preparation for. This film could have been written by Hemingway and Jack London collaborating with Homer. Do round up bunch of your buddies and go see this movie - oh, and stay till after the credits roll. Seriously.
The Devil Inside
(2012)
Huh?
6 January 2012
Warning: Spoilers
The folks who put this movie out, Paramount, handed out little slips of paper asking for our comments on Facebook or Twitter. They stressed that we should mention it was a free screening. Thank God it was. If I'd paid for it I'd be darned upset. Fernanda Andrade plays Isabella Rossi, a woman who is investigating the hospitalization of her mother, Maria Rossi, played by Suzan Crowley, following three murders committed by her mother in 1989. The three murders were of two priests and a nun during an unauthorized exorcism. After her trial, Maria was found not guilty by reason of insanity and hauled off to an Italian psych hospital by the Vatican. Now Isabella wants to know more about mom, partly in fear of what might be waiting for her. The movie is told in documentary style as in the Blair Witch Project. We are introduced to Inout Grama as Michael the documentarian, and Simon Quarterman and Evan Helmuth as priests Ben and David, respectively. Ben and David believe that the Church has it all wrong. That they, as young priests and exorcists can do it better. Can you see where this is going? The movie starts out slow and stays slow for quite a while. Several people left after the first 30 min or so. Crowley gives an admirable performance as a madwoman, and as I said to Betsy afterward part of the movie was just about like being back on the the wards with some of my most acute patients. But it was all predictable, none of it scary. I wanted to give everyone a round of IM Geodon or Valium during the in-hospital exorcism, depending on whether they were psychotic or just way over neurotic. There were plot holes and an abrupt ending after 80 min. that left you going "Huh?" While in line we were given a small box of incense sticks. Why? I don't have a clue. Incense plays no role in the movie. I also got a down-loadable album, again not sure why. And though I didn't win in a radio promotion prize wheel game, I got a set of chemical hand warmers as a consolation. So all in all I came out slightly ahead, I guess.
What's Your Number?
(2011)
Good Date Movie, Better Than I Expected
8 October 2011
You will ask "Why have you rated this so high?" It's a non-thinker, right? Well, yes, mostly but it has a bit more depth than you'd expect. And it has Anna Faris, who I had never heard of - except I loved her animated character in 'Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs'. Never saw any of the "Scary Movie" series, nor "Brokeback Mountain". Nor did I watch "Friends".
Betsy and I went to see this movie Thursday after 'The Ides Of March' to "cleanse our palate" as Betsy put it. We wanted a light romantic comedy that fit into the right time slot for us, and this movie was one we hadn't seen but had seen the previews for. In a way it covers some of the same material as "Bridesmaids' (ptooey) and yet in a lighter, funnier non-disgusting manner. Anna plays Ally Darling, a woman who wakes to find she's been sleeping with another jerk, one of many. She then goes to work, only to be fired. On the way home she reads an article that say's the average woman has only had sex with 10.5 men-and those who have had sex with more than that are not likely to marry. Ally counts and finds she has 20 to her credit. OK, in the old days it would have been to her shame, but hey it's 2011. But her younger sister, Daisy, played by Ari Graynor, is getting married to a guy she (Daisy) had once dated, rejected, but now loves. Ally begins to think maybe she should search among her discards to see if she can find the right guy. Meanwhile she has to cope with her across-the-hall neighbor, Colin, played by Chris Evans.Colin is an unstinting womanizer who has no desire to commit. He also likes to pick up his daily paper naked. OK, so all this is a s predictable as can be. And there is a cast of okay to good supporting actors, including Blythe Danner as mama Darling, divorced from papa Darling, played by Ed Begley Jr. So why do I give it 4 stars instead of just 3? Anna's cute little posterior. Her naked, or nearly naked, butt is nearly everywhere in this movie. And she makes the most of her assets, moving and dancing about with great abandon, whether dancing, playing strip horse, or whatever else comes along. I have since learned she has several movies in which she bares it all. Now for you ladies who think I'm being sexist here, I must add you get to see a few men's tushes too. Captain America, oops, I mean Colin has a few bare buns to show, and while I'm not so inclined, I guess they are OK, at least by Betsy's standards. There also seems to be a fun chemistry between Faris and Evans. Both Betsy and I agree the movie was funnier and sweeter than 'Bridesmaids'. It's a good date movie for a date with someone you've been out with before. But it does have an 'R' rating for sexual content, language, and nudity. So if you're a 13 year old boy I give the same advice as I did 'The Creature'.
Betsy and I went to see this movie Thursday after 'The Ides Of March' to "cleanse our palate" as Betsy put it. We wanted a light romantic comedy that fit into the right time slot for us, and this movie was one we hadn't seen but had seen the previews for. In a way it covers some of the same material as "Bridesmaids' (ptooey) and yet in a lighter, funnier non-disgusting manner. Anna plays Ally Darling, a woman who wakes to find she's been sleeping with another jerk, one of many. She then goes to work, only to be fired. On the way home she reads an article that say's the average woman has only had sex with 10.5 men-and those who have had sex with more than that are not likely to marry. Ally counts and finds she has 20 to her credit. OK, in the old days it would have been to her shame, but hey it's 2011. But her younger sister, Daisy, played by Ari Graynor, is getting married to a guy she (Daisy) had once dated, rejected, but now loves. Ally begins to think maybe she should search among her discards to see if she can find the right guy. Meanwhile she has to cope with her across-the-hall neighbor, Colin, played by Chris Evans.Colin is an unstinting womanizer who has no desire to commit. He also likes to pick up his daily paper naked. OK, so all this is a s predictable as can be. And there is a cast of okay to good supporting actors, including Blythe Danner as mama Darling, divorced from papa Darling, played by Ed Begley Jr. So why do I give it 4 stars instead of just 3? Anna's cute little posterior. Her naked, or nearly naked, butt is nearly everywhere in this movie. And she makes the most of her assets, moving and dancing about with great abandon, whether dancing, playing strip horse, or whatever else comes along. I have since learned she has several movies in which she bares it all. Now for you ladies who think I'm being sexist here, I must add you get to see a few men's tushes too. Captain America, oops, I mean Colin has a few bare buns to show, and while I'm not so inclined, I guess they are OK, at least by Betsy's standards. There also seems to be a fun chemistry between Faris and Evans. Both Betsy and I agree the movie was funnier and sweeter than 'Bridesmaids'. It's a good date movie for a date with someone you've been out with before. But it does have an 'R' rating for sexual content, language, and nudity. So if you're a 13 year old boy I give the same advice as I did 'The Creature'.
One Day
(2011)
We Sacrificed Our Time For You - Semi Spoilers
31 August 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Betsy has said in the past that the best part of a movie is often the anticipation of seeing it. I'll added this one to that list. My wife and I went expecting a romantic comedy.Our mistake,this is a romantic drama. Could be called a romantic tragedy I suppose. We had neither one read the novel, but I'd won the tickets and we like Anne Hathaway. We'd seen Jim Sturgess in Across The Universe and The Other Boylen Girl, but didn't remember him from those.
Hathaway plays Emma, Sturgess plays Dexter. Both are young students who have just graduated on 15 July 88 when the film starts. Well, no it starts on 15 July 2006 (or 07) and then flashes way back to 88. The gimmick in this movie is that the two main characters meet,seem to like each other a lot - and decide to become just good friends. This after a scene between them on their first night together that to me, as a male, having been in my 20's once long ago, could not find believable. We then get to see them interact once a year on the same day, 15 July. Sometimes things go well, sometimes there are serious arguments but they stay FRIENDS even though it's obvious to everyone around them that they are more than that, or should be. The movie Same Time, Next Year the wonderful 1978 movie does the same gimmick in a much better way.
The movie starts slow, Betsy said she'd have changed the channel if she was watching it on TV. You slowly begin to really dislike Dexter, and wonder what's wrong with Emma. Then you do get into the movie and you're thinking okay, this is finally working and BAM! I won't give that away, though I'm tempted. And then the movie devolves in a most confusing, perplexing ending. Left me muttering WTF to myself over and over. This movie joins the ranks of several old 1940-50's romantic dramas like An Affair To Remember or Random Harvest
Why did a movie with very good acting, set in romantic locations with beautiful photography go wrong for us? Soap opera logic. No one tells the truth when it counts or acts in ways consistent with real behavior.
So don't bother with this movie-if you really want the sense of having seen this movie, but much cheaper, go rent a copy of Same Time, Next Year, get a brick or a very heavy book and keep it near you as you watch. Then at about twenty minutes before the end pick up the brick and hit yourself hard in the forehead. Just enough to give you a good concussion so the last of the film doesn't make sense to you. There, you've saved $20 bucks. And guys, if your lady wants to see it, tell her you'll escort her to the theater, but you will be watching something else.
Hathaway plays Emma, Sturgess plays Dexter. Both are young students who have just graduated on 15 July 88 when the film starts. Well, no it starts on 15 July 2006 (or 07) and then flashes way back to 88. The gimmick in this movie is that the two main characters meet,seem to like each other a lot - and decide to become just good friends. This after a scene between them on their first night together that to me, as a male, having been in my 20's once long ago, could not find believable. We then get to see them interact once a year on the same day, 15 July. Sometimes things go well, sometimes there are serious arguments but they stay FRIENDS even though it's obvious to everyone around them that they are more than that, or should be. The movie Same Time, Next Year the wonderful 1978 movie does the same gimmick in a much better way.
The movie starts slow, Betsy said she'd have changed the channel if she was watching it on TV. You slowly begin to really dislike Dexter, and wonder what's wrong with Emma. Then you do get into the movie and you're thinking okay, this is finally working and BAM! I won't give that away, though I'm tempted. And then the movie devolves in a most confusing, perplexing ending. Left me muttering WTF to myself over and over. This movie joins the ranks of several old 1940-50's romantic dramas like An Affair To Remember or Random Harvest
Why did a movie with very good acting, set in romantic locations with beautiful photography go wrong for us? Soap opera logic. No one tells the truth when it counts or acts in ways consistent with real behavior.
So don't bother with this movie-if you really want the sense of having seen this movie, but much cheaper, go rent a copy of Same Time, Next Year, get a brick or a very heavy book and keep it near you as you watch. Then at about twenty minutes before the end pick up the brick and hit yourself hard in the forehead. Just enough to give you a good concussion so the last of the film doesn't make sense to you. There, you've saved $20 bucks. And guys, if your lady wants to see it, tell her you'll escort her to the theater, but you will be watching something else.
Too Old For This Crap!
28 June 2011
Warning: Spoilers
OK, I am not in the demographic for this movie. I'm 61. The night started off poorly with my finding out I had only requested one pass, not two as usual. I at first felt bad that my wife had no ticket. She encouraged me to go ahead and see the movie.She got off easy.
The movie, in 3-D, started off with a close up of Rose Huntington- Whiteley's butt. Now, Rose is not an actress, but she is a Victoria's Secret model, so she has a cute butt. And the movie is PG 13 so you won't see too much of Rose, just enough to keep males interested. And this movie is geared to 12 year old males. Stupid 12 year old males. The directing was muddled, the cast of many good actors(Frances McDormand, John Turturo, and John Malkovich, etc.) was wasted. There are more holes in the plot than there are in a large Amish baby Swiss cheese. When the main story is already a comic book, then the roles should be played straight, not as a camp farce like Batman on TV. And speaking of the story, I know you have to have good and evil, very black and white for kids-but is it too much to ask to have a story that does not rely on every cliché ever written or spoken. "We only have one chance at this shot." "We only need one." Seriously? The parents are played as a joke. A bad joke. Why do the Decepticons spit when they scream loudly at the hero? A reddish fluid comes out of their mouths as they yell at whoever is in their grasp. The movie does move fairly quickly but lasts too long at 154 minutes. Things do blow up spectacularly and Chicago gets trashed thoroughly. So if you are looking for 2 12 hours of air conditioning with popcorn, or you're a not too bright 12 year old who has not seen too many movies, this film is for you. For the rest of you who want to see a good action adventure SF film, go see "Super 8". Even with a weak ending it is a much better movie.
The movie, in 3-D, started off with a close up of Rose Huntington- Whiteley's butt. Now, Rose is not an actress, but she is a Victoria's Secret model, so she has a cute butt. And the movie is PG 13 so you won't see too much of Rose, just enough to keep males interested. And this movie is geared to 12 year old males. Stupid 12 year old males. The directing was muddled, the cast of many good actors(Frances McDormand, John Turturo, and John Malkovich, etc.) was wasted. There are more holes in the plot than there are in a large Amish baby Swiss cheese. When the main story is already a comic book, then the roles should be played straight, not as a camp farce like Batman on TV. And speaking of the story, I know you have to have good and evil, very black and white for kids-but is it too much to ask to have a story that does not rely on every cliché ever written or spoken. "We only have one chance at this shot." "We only need one." Seriously? The parents are played as a joke. A bad joke. Why do the Decepticons spit when they scream loudly at the hero? A reddish fluid comes out of their mouths as they yell at whoever is in their grasp. The movie does move fairly quickly but lasts too long at 154 minutes. Things do blow up spectacularly and Chicago gets trashed thoroughly. So if you are looking for 2 12 hours of air conditioning with popcorn, or you're a not too bright 12 year old who has not seen too many movies, this film is for you. For the rest of you who want to see a good action adventure SF film, go see "Super 8". Even with a weak ending it is a much better movie.
Bridesmaids
(I) (2011)
Uggh!
24 June 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I wish I had read the negative reviews posted here prior to seeing this waste of time and money. The plot was a muddy, hackneyed, meandering mess, the acting mostly so-so, and the subject matter includes graphic depictions of diarrhea and vomiting. If that's your thing you'll love it. All of the funny scenes were in the trailers. The protagonist was such a whiny loser I kept hoping that someone would bump her off.You know there's a problem when your "bad" girl comes off looking like a nicer and more sympathetic person overall. Anything that was supposed to be a joke or a funny situation was hammered home with a 15 pound sledge hammer- and then repeated! This movie took over two hours to get to a place it had no business ending up, I.E. a happy ending for Annie. Her "redemption" was way too little, way too late and was contrived as hell. This movie is now my new standard for really bad, bad waste of film. My wife wanted to see it based on trailers and the mostly good reviews. She had to cover her eyes during the bathroom scenes and found the whole movie to be one of the absolute worst she has ever seen. If you must waste $20 bucks(roughly two tickets) take a $20 bill, shred it in a food processor, then flush it down the toilet. Do this while eating popcorn and you'll have the same overall feeling of having seen this movie.
Casino Royale
(2006)
Don't Buy Junk Bonds
3 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
OK MAJOR SPOILER alert here. Do not read any further if you don't want to know why this movie stinks. Just accept that it does and go see "Deja Vu". Do you remember "New Coke"? OK, don't say I didn't warn you. First off this movie is ersatz Bond. There is an opening sequence in black-and-white. Why? To establish age? Flashback? I dunno. But worse is the premise of the sequence. Bond must make two "kills" before he gets his double "0" designation. Now since the "00" is the "License to Kill" what were the first two? Murder? Unsanctioned hits? Fun? Then the opening title/credits with an absolutely tiresome theme and no "Bond women" in the animation. OK, this is the "new Bond" Then we get a Bond who breaks in to M's apartment? What the hell is that about? James Bond would not do that. No god agent who wants to keep his job would. OK, we go on to a Bond who does not seem to like women, just uses them. In the other Bond movies we get a sense of Bond using women, yes, but because he likes them and they like him. There are three women in this movie and he toys with one(no sex however) and she ends up dead. She's married a minor villain and Bond later tells the next woman he prefers married women. The third woman, while a plot point, has no lines and might as well not exist. This was not the Bond we knew. He was willing and able to romance all sorts of women. The second woman he Falls in LOVE with and spends time romancing after the mission is supposedly over. Bond has been married before and since then Bond loves em and leaves em. Oh, that's right this is the "new" Bond. So why the old "M"?
I have read the James Bond novels(yes, they were books first) and while this Bond is more realistic- he is no Superman, nor does he have more than a couple of gadgets, he still seems just a bit of a stilted thug. OK, there were no wisecracks to speak of, the one while he is being tortured falling absolutely flat to my ears. In fact most of the dialogue stunk. Bond don't care if his martini is shaken or stirred? Yeah, right. My wife pointed out there was no sense of fun in the movie. She likes Bond movies, but she felt this Bond was not suave, did not look right in a suit and "just felt wrong'. Finally the manipulative ending. Bond goes for sadistic revenge of the death of his girl. He finally says the line "I'm Bond, James Bond" and that's the last line. No, I've seen James Bond, I know James Bond and you're no James Bond. Oh, and one more thing. Why the hell did you save the "James Bond Theme" for the closing credits?
I have read the James Bond novels(yes, they were books first) and while this Bond is more realistic- he is no Superman, nor does he have more than a couple of gadgets, he still seems just a bit of a stilted thug. OK, there were no wisecracks to speak of, the one while he is being tortured falling absolutely flat to my ears. In fact most of the dialogue stunk. Bond don't care if his martini is shaken or stirred? Yeah, right. My wife pointed out there was no sense of fun in the movie. She likes Bond movies, but she felt this Bond was not suave, did not look right in a suit and "just felt wrong'. Finally the manipulative ending. Bond goes for sadistic revenge of the death of his girl. He finally says the line "I'm Bond, James Bond" and that's the last line. No, I've seen James Bond, I know James Bond and you're no James Bond. Oh, and one more thing. Why the hell did you save the "James Bond Theme" for the closing credits?
One Magic Christmas
(1985)
An alternate Christmas tale.
30 November 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Warning, this can be a disturbing movie. This movie would be very disturbing for small children, say under ten. Things go wrong and a woman's family dies, the father first and then her children. Yikes! She must go through an alternate reality that teaches her the meaning of Christmas and learn what it was that led to the disaster. This movie is about family values and charity, but is not above a Santa that has a hard edge. We are responsible for our actions and the outcomes. Yet it all comes out right and Harry Dean Stanton is a terrific angel-in both senses of the word. Mary Steenburgen is excellent, the husband and children are fair. I recommend it but don't give up in the first few minutes, give it time to develop. Roger
Naked World: America Undercover
(2003 TV Movie)
Naked World - Ephemeral Art
17 October 2006
Hello, Well I am not in "Naked World", or in "Naked States" but maybe in the next one...? There is an old, very hard to find documentary on Spencer called "Naked Pavement" 1998 by Joshua Tunick (no relation) which was done in his early career. "Naked States" was next, by Arlene Donnelly, the same who did "Naked World". Arlene is a friend of Spencer's and while there is no critical voice in the movies, the movies are more to document what those of us who pose for Spencer feel and to show Spencer at work. Spencer is a visually oriented person, not verbal and when working is highly pressured by the changing light, the fact that we are naked and cold, etc. So he comes across as more abrupt than he really is. Is he an artist with artistic temperament. Oh yes! But as more and more museums have his work, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Albright-Knox I would say it's art. Will it last? I don't know. Wouldn't you like to have a documentary of past artists at work?
The Good Thief
(2002)
Great roles for Nolte and newcomer Nutsa Kukhiandidze.Sizzle!
16 April 2003
Just saw this movie this eve,04/16.Wow.Plan to tell my friends to go see it.Simple heist plot given the right new life by Nick Nolte and the rest of the cast.Nick Nolte's face looks like he's lived the life of the character Bob Montagnet,a gambler and a thief.And newcomer Nutsa is great, someone to watch for in upcoming movies.My wife liked it too,as it is a good blend of action,romance and humor. We both found the film editing style a little off-putting,with a still frame ending a scene,and some speeded up scenes but by no means a problem,just took some getting used to for us.I also appreciated the score and the photography.Not often do you hear a Leonard Cohen song in a movie score.
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