Zombieland (2009)

You already know if you’ll like this or not. Not as quirky as the cult-classic Shaun of the Dead, it still does a wonderful job of balancing its zombie film and coming-of-age-movie sensibilities. The small cast really clicks and the film boasts probably the most memorable cameo of the year. Grade: B. Enjoy the trailer.

The Hasty Heart (1949)

Adapted from the stage play of the same name, The Hasty Heart is a one note cliche, filled with period conventions, unexceptional acting, and bland staging, it became almost instantly tiresome to watch. The story is about a mostly off putting Scottish stereotype of a solder ( Richard Todd) injured fatally on the final day of the war, only he doesn’t know it. Destined to die of kidney failure within weeks, the commanding officer of this international MASH unit decides to keep the Scotsman around and in the dark until his death, he does however enlist a pretty nurse (Patricia Neal) and five recuperating solders of various nationalities to befriend him and make him ‘happy and comfortable’ in his last days. Mostly the Scotsman (who pines for a kilt and is named Laughlin McLaughlin, lest we risk once taking the emphasis of his being Scottish) is gruff, self righteous, and unlikable. Eventually he comes to believe that this gang of six are his friends, and then he just becomes over needy and annoying. Then he figures out he’s dying and his ‘friends’ knew about it, and he becomes a jerk again (want to wager if he has yet another change of heart before the ending). Movie notable mostly as Neal’s first after beginning her affair with Gary Cooper on the seat of The Fountainhead, and that Ronald Regan (who plays the groups requisite Yank) was reportedly very depressed while shooting this movie having recently been divorced by his wife Jane Wymen. But mostly, its just a bad movie. Grade: D.

I Love You, Man (2009)

Likable comedy aims for just the right level of ambition and humor. I’m a big fan of Jason Segel and Paul Rudd is perfect as the lead (I’m liking this Rashida Jones as well). Impressive supporting cast. Grade: B.

Synecdoche, New York (2008)

Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut is a Talmudicly dense mediation on what it is to live life. Philip Seymour Hoffman is Caden Cotard, a hypochondriac, obsessive and romantically self defeating New York state theater director, who spends the last 40 years of his life working on a never-to-be completed autobiographical stage play, conducted inside a near life-sized replica of New York City housed in a massive warehouse. Incredibly cast the film has so many riches of performance, writing, subtext and set design that I dare not even start. Surface it to say that this movie comes about as close as I’ve seen to being a religious document on screen. Grade: A+

Mad Men: Season 1 (2007)

Sometimes I come across a movie or a show that I’m reluctant to review because it can’t be either quickly summarized, or if I tried to go in depth it would seem too daunting, Mad Men is one such show. Series creator and head writer Matthew Weiner wanted to capture the early 60’s, its ethos, social norms, popular culture, everything and then simultaneity deconstruct and pay tribute to an era of incredible transition. It’s about the mythology of the time, how we view it now and how it was lived then. The characters are complicated internally, and often act a role on the outside. The role is dictated by the circumstances of their lives, their aspirations, social expectations, psychological needs. Like other period pieces, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, The Apartment, Revolutionary Road, it’s a show about the cynicism of a supposedly innocent time. One can relate to the characters because (to mine the Kennedy vs. Nixon motif that permeates the entire first season) its about the battle between who we really are and what we aspire to be, and how often we fall short. Grade: A.

I think this little montage from episode 4 captures the essence of the series.

Ponyo (2008)

My first Miyazaki film in a theater (to my surprise I found that my sister-in-law was attending the same showing with two of her brothers). Ponyo is the story of a magical goldfish (daughter of a once human ‘evil’ wizard and ‘The Goddess of Mercy’) who is saved from ocean refuse by a five year old Japanese boy and subsequently wills her self to become human. As Ken Jennings has said of the work of Miyazaki, one of the beauties of his films is that they don’t often make sense. It’s that dream logic thing again, an original mythology and a childlike sense of wonder which are the directors two biggest strengths. This is a lovely movie, less ambitious then some of his most recent works, but it ties in nicely to the ethos of My Neighbor Totoro, which still my favorite of the directors films. The movie boasts the requisite A-list voice cast and beautiful animation, as well as a soft handed lesson about the balance of nature. The boys mother voiced by Tina Fay is quite exceptionally realized, a complete human being is rare to see in a ‘parent character’ in an animated movie. Grade: B+

Eli Stone: Season 2 (2009)

Again, this has got to be one of the most tragic televison cancellations of the decade. A smart, clever show that boasts a narrative freeness you seldom see, a cast that completely works, and genuine character development. Season 2 is better then season 1, a logical continuation of all that came before it with a few minor twists. I really would have enjoyed seeing where this show could have ended up, if only it had been on basic cable were it belonged, and not one of the too often fickle networks. Grade: A-.

Bonhoeffer (2003)

Documentary on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German protestant theologian who took bold stances against the Nazi’s, could have fled the county but didn’t, and was ultimately executed for his involvement in a resistance plot to kill Hitler. I think I would have rather gotten this information in the form of a magazine article, I really grew bored with this too thorough film (where even the 20+ minute shorter Truth and Conviction was still almost pushing it) . Grade: D+

Thought: Christian Clemenson could play Bonhoeffer on stage, they look a lot alike.

The Shining (1980)

I had seen the later, Steven Weber TV mini-series adaptation of this Stephan King classic, but it is the original Kubrick adaptation that is iconic. King had the mini-series made because he felt Stanley Kubrick’s film strayed from his vision of the story, I’m sure it did, I trust King and Kubrick was notorious for the looseness of some of his adaptations, he’d seize on a basic story premise and go his own way from there (A Clockwork Orange is suppose to be the best example of this tendency). But what Kubrick would make of any material was always fascinating, and here we have the directors cool and innovative visual sense (tracking the big wheel down the hotel corridors, genius), hypnotic pacing, deceptively simple yet reveling dialogue, and a heck of a performance from Jack Nicholson. While the basic plot is pretty well known there are a few brief moments of haunting weirdness that stayed with me (one in particular) that hint at something wider, crazier and more mysterious going on. High brow horror, if can call it that, which maintains lasting popular appeal and is a true touchstone of its genera. Grade: A.

I'm also a big fan of this inspired Shinning spoof trailer.

To Catch a Thief (1954)

Hey a well known Hitchcock film I hadn’t seen. As all Hitchcock movies are suspense/mystery films perhaps its best to unpack them by there subgeneras, and in this case its defiantly a romance. Grace Kelly (this is the film that brought her to the south of France, ultimately a mixed blessing in her life) and Cary Grant are our couple, a first generation American heiress and a reformed former cat burglar trying to prove his innocence in a recent rash of jewel heists (and hence the tentative plot). One of Hitchcock’s subtler, less ambitious films, its not as spectacular or exciting as many of the directors 50's outings, but if you accept it on its own terms you’ll have a good low key time. Loved Jessie Royce Landis as Kelly's mother. Grade: B.

The Lost Room (2006)

A mysterious event in May of 1961 seemingly obliterates a New Mexico motel room from existence, and endows all the objects that were in said room with indestructibility and other mysterious powers that range from the mundane (a wrist watch that will hard-boil any egg placed within the watch band), to the potentially world changing (a glass eye that can “destroy or heal all flesh”). One of the more significant objects is a key that can (with a few restrictions) transport you to nearly any doorway in the world. A Pittsburgh homicide detective (Peter Krause) investigating a truly odd double murder (the victims were fried to death but their clothes remained unsinged) comes into possession of this key, eventually resulting in his 8 year old daughters being trapped in another dimension, and the fathers desperate struggle to get her back.

Krause’s character becomes immersed in the world of those individuals who are aware of ‘the objects’ existence, and forms many temporary alliances in his efforts to find an object capable of restoring his daughter to ‘this’ reality. The objects and there powers are fun and often inspired in there silliness, and the different factions and their approaches to and beliefs about the objects intriguing. Indeed I must say this mini-series seems to have struck upon a truly original and entertaining idea, and although the beginning and to a lesser extent the end are weak, the middle is an enjoyable romp. However this all felt less like a mini-series, and more like the first season of a TV series, the ending left so much unresolved I almost immediately started thinking up plot lines for season 2. Baring the unlikely event of getting Peter Krause back, surely this could be an entertaining series of novels. Grade: B.

The Mission (1986)

A Beautiful story of sin, redemption and compromise in 18th Century South America. Jesuit missionaries sincerely sought to bring Christianity to the native peoples, but their work was compromised by a political situation involving Spain, Portugal, and the Church, one that sapped official Catholicism's moral leadership in regards to the rights, and very lives of the American Indians. Strong cast, memorable score and beautiful location footage. Director Joffe concisely evokes Vietnam and his earlier The Killing Fields in scenes of native slaughter. Grade: B+

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007)

The story of the wrongs committed against the Sioux Indians by the American government from The Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876 to Wounded Knee in 1890. Told through the stories of several real life figures including an Indian doctor (Adam Beach) a U.S. Senator (Aiden Quinn) and Chief Sitting Bull (August Schellenberg). Tragic tale delivered with some poignancy. Also featuring Anna Paquin and then soon to be presidential aspirant Fred Thompson in a cameo role as President Ulysses S. Grant. Grade: B+

Point of Order (1964)

Emile de Antonio’s documentary of the Army McCarthy hearings of 1954 consists of just that, footage of the Army McCarthy hearings of 1954, with the aid only of simple editing, and the briefest of scene setting narration at the start of the film. In its minimalism as regards construction and narrative voice it was stylistically revolutionary for a documentary of its time, and (more importantly) the perfect format in which to engage arguably the most gripping drama ever played out before the United States Senate. You couldn’t ask for better heros and villains then Joseph N. Welch and Joe McCarthy respectively, colorful, forceful characters who draw you in, though the supporting players cover a fascinating spectrum as well. A triumph of bringing immediacy and intimacy to real and important history. One of the 10 best documentaries of all time. Grade: A+

Boston Legal: Season 5 (2008)

A little delayed given the rapid succession in which I watched seasons 1-4, but season 5 served as a lovely reunion with some great characters. Finishing the series also brings me back to where I started it, as my first exposer of any real length to the program was the roughly 60% I watched of the series final last December (was it really only December?). I just really hope that David E. Kelly finds a way to bring the Alan Shore character back in some future project. Season Grade: B+, Series Grade: A.

The Godmakers II (1993)

I admit I've always been morbidley curious to see one of these films, and this one was avilable for free on the interwebs. Anyway mostly a rehash of materials from the first Godmakers film (so I've read), you know Mormons have to much power, is a cult, ect. The one new addition is charges that long time Church leader Gordon B. Hinckley had a series of orgies with under aged males and prostatues in a Salt Lake City apartment, or so says a dying AIDS patient. Film maker Ed Decker makes the point that the Church is so powerfull that it supressed virtual all news of this story, thus citing a lack of evidence as evidence, neat trick. Such overreaching at lest in part is what caused the more reputable 'anti-Mormons' the Tanners of Utah Light House Ministry to break with Decker and his group. I don't know how to rate this one.