The Lovely Bones

Released: 2009
MPAA rating: PG-13
Run time: 2:15

"The Lovely Bones" held some real deep meaning for me as the film deals with the death of a child and the family's difficulty in dealing with it.  Added to that is the wrinkle that we get to also see that child trying to come to terms with suddenly finding herself in the afterlife.  This is a very creative film that runs from wondrous to creepy and often both at the same time.  Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) is a 14-year old girl with her whole life ahead of her:  discovering romance and on the verge of true happiness.   As these things go, both in reality and fiction, she takes a detour through the cornfield on her way home from school and finds herself talking to her neighbor, George Harvey (Stanley Tucci), the last conversation in the world she will ever have.  At this point of the film, the story splits into two very different films.  We follow Susie as she learns what the afterlife is, but fights to stay close to this world until her killer is found.  The other story we follow is how her family struggles with her loss.  Her father (Mark Wahlberg) finds himself obsessed with breaking the case and finding her killer.  Her mother (Rachel Weisz) shuts down pretty completely, closing off Susie's room and leaving the care of her other children mostly up to her mother (Susan Sarandon), a smoking, drinking, somewhat irritating woman.  These two stories intermingle at times as Susie is trying to help her father to look in the right direction.  On the afterlife side, we have a dreamworld that is mostly beautiful and wondrous, but not enticing enough for Susie until her life's unfinished business is taken care of.  Stanley Tucci is getting a lot of award-season heat for his portrayal as the creepy, calculating serial killer.  While he is very good and worthy of the attention, I was very impressed with Saoirse Ronan, who puts this film on her shoulders and carries it perfectly.  The movie runs a little long and toward the end there is one sequence that just drags on and on in an attempt to create tension.  Directed by "Lord of the Rings" helmer Peter Jackson, I should not be surprised as he is a great filmmaker, but tends to make films that are longer than they need to be ("King Kong" any one?).  I really liked this film. It was very dark at times and deeply emotional, while still being very entertaining.  It just misses being a truly great film, but not by much.

Grade: A-

Trailer:

The Proposal

Released: 2009
MPAA rating: PG-13
Run time: 1:48

It has taken me a week to even start writing the review because I simply don't know what to say about a movie that is so bland, formulaic and utterly predictable.  By now, you must be familiar with the premise:  Publishing exec Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) finds her work visa expired and faces deportation to Canada.  She comes up with the genius plan to pretty much force her personal assistant, Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds), to marry her so she can stay in the country and keep her job.  A better title might have been: "Sexual Harassment: Hey, it's not so bad if it involves two beautiful people!".  Most of the film is then spent on a trip to Alaska where they go to announce the engagement to his family, who insist they have the wedding that weekend right there in Alaska.  Of course, as movies like these go, the two of them start off the trip hating each other.  Hmm, wonder how that turns out.  Betty White almost steals the movie as Paxton's grandmother (I say almost because can you really "steal" a movie this bad?).  The movie ends pretty much exactly how you think it will end, making the audience all warm and fuzzy.  To be fair, I don't generally like "chick flicks", but do end up throwing one on now and again, usually to great disappointment.  Do I watch them to appease the wife? No, she actually hates them more than I do!!  The performances are good enough. It simply just brings nothing new or remotely interesting to the table.

Grade:  D

Trailer:

Avatar

Released: 2009
MPAA rating: PG-13
Run time: 2:42

Before I write yet another glowing view of this amazing motion picture experience, I will set aside some space to go into the problems I had with the movie.  First and foremost, the political overtones were very heavy-handed and not at all subtle.  Some examples:  When preparing an attack against the natives, the Colonel (Stephen Lang) says "We must fight terror with terror", followed shortly after by another character saying "They're going for some kind of shock and awe thing."  Earlier in the film, a character says "This is why we're here; because this little gray rock sells for twenty million a kilo." (Can you say "War for Oil" any one?)  Then, the final heavy-handed political dialogue:"See the world we come from: there's no green there. They've killed their mother, and they're going to do the same thing here."  Can I please see a major film without having environmentalism shoved down my throat?   One other minor complaint is occasional hack dialogue led off by "You're not in Kansas anymore!"  Now, leading off a review like that, you may think I was not a fan of this film.  The truth is actually quite the opposite.  I will caution that you absolutely do need to see this in a theatre and in 3-D.  It was shot that way and is absolutely meant to be seen that way.  Seeing it in 2-D or at home when it comes out on DVD will take away the majority of the magic and wonder that is "Avatar".   The 3-D imagery and the richly imagined world of Pandora just will not translate.  This is a film that was always intended to be seen in 3-D, so it really must be experienced that way.  The story itself is basically an allegory of the discovery of America and the native American plight, with a healthy dose of the Pocahontas legend thrown in.  Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a Marine who has lost the use of his legs and is given the opportunity to go to the planet Pandora, where he can operate an "Avatar", a creature made of the DNA from a human and the native Na'Vi.  He is essentially there to help the scientific team to gather data and find diplomatic ways to get access to a precious resource available on the planet.  When the Colonel meets him, he also sees this a chance to have Jake use his avatar to gather intelligence, a mission he gladly accepts.  Of course, in stories of this type, it is never that simple.  The Na'Vi are a peaceful people and Jake begins to feel he is one of them, while also falling in love with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), his Na'Vi guide.  A large portion of the film is spent developing that relationship while also exploring Pandora through Jake's adventures.  This is where the movie is simply amazing and breathtaking.  This is not gimmicky 3-D, where they look for reasons to have things come out of the screen.  It just gives you an incredible depth of field to completely bring Pandora and its people to life.  In 3-D, there is nothing cartoony or fake-looking about the visuals.  You will believe you are there.  Despite my reservations with the plot, this is a movie you must experience.  James Cameron is a genius with this type of imagery and may be the best visual film-maker of all time.   I'll say it one more time:  Do NOT pass up the chance to see this on the big screen and in all of its 3-D glory!

Grade: A

Trailer:

Shorts

Released: 2009
MPAA rating: PG
Run time: 1:29

Robert Rodriguez is an interesting director.  One the one hand, he makes ultra-violent "Tarantino-esque" films like "Desperado" and "Planet Terror", which deserve their "R" ratings.  Then, when he had children, he went on a completely different path and started to make movies his kids could see and enjoy.  He began with "Spy Kids" and his most recent entry is "Shorts".  Rodriguez' kids movies tend to be fantastical and over-the-top whimsical and "Shorts" is no different.  It is a fable of the wishing stone which fell from the sky and wreaked havoc on a small town as people began to make their wishes.   In an interesting twist, Rodriguez uses the "Pulp Fiction" style of non-linear storytelling and chapters to tell the story.  It is an entertaining film, but is definitely geared for a younger (11 years and under) audience.  It is very colorful and the characters are simply defined.  When all is said in done, it is a morality play which builds on the phrase "Be careful what you wish for, you might get it."  The performances are good and Rodriguez is able to draw some  top-shelf talent for his projects.  In this case:  James Spader as the villain, Leslie Mann, Jon Cryer and William H. Macy are all along for the ride.  Our 9-year old certainly liked it more than we did, but that makes sense as she is right in the target demographic for this film.  Having said that, I've certainly had to sit through much worse.

Grade: C+

Trailer:

Trailer of the day: Legion

Trailer of the day: From Paris With Love

Could be a fun, mindless action flick, but could be a disaster.  Maybe a little bit of both.

Trailer of the day: The Karate Kid

I'm not sure how I feel about this remake, but I'll probably give it a shot.