Le Cercle Rouge

DVD, Blu-Ray Movie Review

Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, Written by Jean-Pierre Melville, 140 minutes, Unrated.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

Few styles in cinema have that instant cool factor quite like film noir. It's shadowy lights, crackling dialogue and incriminating perspective are all too frequently revived, revised and recycled, without much variation. While lesser filmmakers use the conventions for stylistic purposes, it takes a true genius to make those attributes their own.

Jean-Pierre Melville does just that. "Le Cercle Rouge" isn't a traditional film noir; its bad guys aren't relatable; Melville distances us from the crime, rather than implicating us in it; and the dialogue is sparse and direct. To this effect, Melville does the exact opposite of what noir is supposed to do. But by slowing things down, the auteur creates a surprisingly quiet caper that is as taut as any classic noir and doesn't skimp on any of the cool.

A smooth, tight-lipped ex-con, Corey (Alain Delon), and an boorish fugitive, Vogel (Gian Maria Volonté), plan an intricate jewel heist, while averting the trail of an overtly determined police officer (Bourvil).

Melville lets the camera do the talking and stretches his simple plot over two and half tense hours. Utilizing every space, each shot carefully creates a relationship between the characters and their surroundings. Whether he's lingering on a wide shot or an alarm system, Melville’s static moments build tension. The cast matches the director's patience, relying mostly on a series of hard stares to get their point across. “Rouge” is painfully slow at times, but leaves the viewer in complete suspense.

All these squints and sighs build towards the fantastic and intricate third act heist. Melville and his cast are so precise in their actions that even the most out of step movement can send jolts through the frame. It’s a nail-biting conclusion that rewards our patience.

"Le Cercle Rouge" is a very different experience. Melville uses his spaces and actors to focus on the tightly wound caper and constructs his noir in a new and subversive way. By distancing us from the characters, he uses tension to pull us in. No longer are we, the audience, implicated in the crime on screen, we are mere observers. But as the film argues, we are far from innocent.

Grade: A-

Le Cercle Rouge

DVD, Blu-Ray Movie Review

Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, Written by Jean-Pierre Melville, 140 minutes, Unrated.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

Few styles in cinema have that instant cool factor quite like film noir. It's shadowy lights, crackling dialogue and incriminating perspective are all too frequently revived, revised and recycled, without much variation. While lesser filmmakers use the conventions for stylistic purposes, it takes a true genius to make those attributes their own.

Jean-Pierre Melville does just that. "Le Cercle Rouge" isn't a traditional film noir; its bad guys aren't relatable; Melville distances us from the crime, rather than implicating us in it; and the dialogue is sparse and direct. To this effect, Melville does the exact opposite of what noir is supposed to do. But by slowing things down, the auteur creates a surprisingly quiet caper that is as taut as any classic noir and doesn't skimp on any of the cool.

A smooth, tight-lipped ex-con, Corey (Alain Delon), and an boorish fugitive, Vogel (Gian Maria Volonté), plan an intricate jewel heist, while averting the trail of an overtly determined police officer (Bourvil).

Melville lets the camera do the talking and stretches his simple plot over two and half tense hours. Utilizing every space, each shot carefully creates a relationship between the characters and their surroundings. Whether he's lingering on a wide shot or an alarm system, Melville’s static moments build tension. The cast matches the director's patience, relying mostly on a series of hard stares to get their point across. “Rouge” is painfully slow at times, but leaves the viewer in complete suspense.

All these squints and sighs build towards the fantastic and intricate third act heist. Melville and his cast are so precise in their actions that even the most out of step movement can send jolts through the frame. It’s a nail-biting conclusion that rewards our patience.

"Le Cercle Rouge" is a very different experience. Melville uses his spaces and actors to focus on the tightly wound caper and constructs his noir in a new and subversive way. By distancing us from the characters, he uses tension to pull us in. No longer are we, the audience, implicated in the crime on screen, we are mere observers. But as the film argues, we are far from innocent.

Grade: A-

"White Material"

DVD, Blu-Ray Move Review

Directed by Claire Denis, Written by Claire Denis, Marie N’Diaye, and Lucie Borieteau, 106 minutes, Unrated.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

Claire Denis' "White Material" is not for the faint of heart. This film contains no joy, no redemption and no peace. It's an hour and forty-five minutes of horror, dissent and fear. Denis challenges her audience with a manic film that stops moving only to give them a chance to exhale.

Maria Vial (Isabelle Huppert), the owner of Vial Coffee Plantation, strives to keep her farm and business alive during an insurrection by local rebels. Trapped in her own interests, she ignores the ruthless rebels and corrupt public figures, as well as her restless son (Nicolas Duvauchelle). As these factors compound, Maria's life spirals out of control, putting what little she has in jeopardy.

While "White Material" has a dramatic build, the film begins in a state of total chaos and continues to grow from there. By opening in such disarray, the film is somewhat able to prepare us for the real horror to come. Yet, the film continues to push with an array of child rebels and intense violence captured by a visceral lens.

The tone that Denis sets is one of unrest. Her camera pans and swoops around the dust covered town, resolving on extreme close-ups of the sweaty, concerned faces of the cast. Appropriately, no one in the film ever looks relaxed. Maria's life falls apart before our eyes, while we wait to see if she can continue her plantation amidst the impending bloodshed.

Denis never shies from the film's violent side, putting the guns in the hands of a child's army devoid of rules, laws, or ethics. In the eyes of the rebels and government militia, there is no pity or remorse. They are characterized as monsters, and on screen, they appear as such. Likewise, Maria's desire to stay seems as crazed as the mercenaries thirst for blood. Neither gets much explanation, but Denis never promises answers--she merely shows life.

"White Material" is an extremely disorienting film that leaves the viewer in shambles. It starts at a horrific peak and climbs even further, daring the viewer to keep watching. At times, when Denis slows things down, the film's uncomfortable silences almost scream for action. This split in the action leaves little room for motivation or structure, but with a film this lawless and characters this amoral, it's only fitting that their actions not make complete sense.

Grade: B+

"White Material"

DVD, Blu-Ray Move Review

Directed by Claire Denis, Written by Claire Denis, Marie N’Diaye, and Lucie Borieteau, 106 minutes, Unrated.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

Claire Denis' "White Material" is not for the faint of heart. This film contains no joy, no redemption and no peace. It's an hour and forty-five minutes of horror, dissent and fear. Denis challenges her audience with a manic film that stops moving only to give them a chance to exhale.

Maria Vial (Isabelle Huppert), the owner of Vial Coffee Plantation, strives to keep her farm and business alive during an insurrection by local rebels. Trapped in her own interests, she ignores the ruthless rebels and corrupt public figures, as well as her restless son (Nicolas Duvauchelle). As these factors compound, Maria's life spirals out of control, putting what little she has in jeopardy.

While "White Material" has a dramatic build, the film begins in a state of total chaos and continues to grow from there. By opening in such disarray, the film is somewhat able to prepare us for the real horror to come. Yet, the film continues to push with an array of child rebels and intense violence captured by a visceral lens.

The tone that Denis sets is one of unrest. Her camera pans and swoops around the dust covered town, resolving on extreme close-ups of the sweaty, concerned faces of the cast. Appropriately, no one in the film ever looks relaxed. Maria's life falls apart before our eyes, while we wait to see if she can continue her plantation amidst the impending bloodshed.

Denis never shies from the film's violent side, putting the guns in the hands of a child's army devoid of rules, laws, or ethics. In the eyes of the rebels and government militia, there is no pity or remorse. They are characterized as monsters, and on screen, they appear as such. Likewise, Maria's desire to stay seems as crazed as the mercenaries thirst for blood. Neither gets much explanation, but Denis never promises answers--she merely shows life.

"White Material" is an extremely disorienting film that leaves the viewer in shambles. It starts at a horrific peak and climbs even further, daring the viewer to keep watching. At times, when Denis slows things down, the film's uncomfortable silences almost scream for action. This split in the action leaves little room for motivation or structure, but with a film this lawless and characters this amoral, it's only fitting that their actions not make complete sense.

Grade: B+

“Water for Elephants” Movie Review

Directed by Frances Lawrence, Written by Richard LaGravenese and Sara Gruen (book), 122 minutes, Rated PG-13.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

Frances Lawrence sure knows how to put on a show--well, at least capture one. Wrangling some of the world’s most famous and talented actors and filming with lustrous charm, the director puts on a beautiful spectacle. However, while the film looks fantastic, its stars lack the connection needed to make this circus a true marvel.

After sudden tragedy kicks Jacob (Robert Pattinson) out of his house, the once-hardworking veterinary student hits the rails and meets up with a traveling circus. In need of a vet, August (Christoph Waltz), the show's owner, hires the vagabond to train their new showstopper, a 52-year-old elephant named Rosie. Despite not knowing how to train animals, Jacob accepts, but finds his position in jeopardy when he falls for the show’s main attraction and August’s wife, Marlena (Reese Witherspoon).

“Water for Elephants” is certainly a beautiful film. Lawrence’s depiction of both the great depression and a traveling circus pushes forth his romantic interpretation of the bygone era. His look exists somewhere between the sheen of 1940s classic Hollywood, with some nods to the grime of John Ford and the extravagance of Orson Wells. Unfortunately, the director doesn’t gain their storytelling strengths as well.

Lawrence frames his film in the old-man-recollecting narrative, and the problems start there. Not even the great Hal Holbrook can spark a connection with his screen partner Paul Schneider, who couldn’t look more bored. Holbrook plays the elder Jacob, and his problem with Schneider appears to be a lifelong affliction. Pattinson, who plays young Jacob, is too distant to be an engaging protagonist, and it shows in his lifeless romance with Witherspoon.

Jacob’s story of a boy who runs away and joins the circus is really the least engaging part of the film. His quarrels with August and affair with Marlena pail in comparison to Lawrence’s circus, which is elegant and romantic. Much of this is the result of Pattinson’s coy performance, which brought him instant fame in the “Twilight Saga,” but fails him here. Lawrence needs a ring leader to draw in crowds. Pattinson, on the other hand, couldn’t be more distant.

“Water for Elephants” isn’t a bad film. Lawrence has a decent story and a great eye for capturing it. Witherspoon, with her delicate movements and some soft lighting, has a great classic Hollywood feel, while Waltz, as always, gives an emotionally complicated performance. But the star, the person we’re supposedly interested in following, that confused looking veterinarian on the screen, couldn’t be less interested in entertaining us.

Grade: C+

“Water for Elephants” Movie Review

Directed by Frances Lawrence, Written by Richard LaGravenese and Sara Gruen (book), 122 minutes, Rated PG-13.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

Frances Lawrence sure knows how to put on a show--well, at least capture one. Wrangling some of the world’s most famous and talented actors and filming with lustrous charm, the director puts on a beautiful spectacle. However, while the film looks fantastic, its stars lack the connection needed to make this circus a true marvel.

After sudden tragedy kicks Jacob (Robert Pattinson) out of his house, the once-hardworking veterinary student hits the rails and meets up with a traveling circus. In need of a vet, August (Christoph Waltz), the show's owner, hires the vagabond to train their new showstopper, a 52-year-old elephant named Rosie. Despite not knowing how to train animals, Jacob accepts, but finds his position in jeopardy when he falls for the show’s main attraction and August’s wife, Marlena (Reese Witherspoon).

“Water for Elephants” is certainly a beautiful film. Lawrence’s depiction of both the great depression and a traveling circus pushes forth his romantic interpretation of the bygone era. His look exists somewhere between the sheen of 1940s classic Hollywood, with some nods to the grime of John Ford and the extravagance of Orson Wells. Unfortunately, the director doesn’t gain their storytelling strengths as well.

Lawrence frames his film in the old-man-recollecting narrative, and the problems start there. Not even the great Hal Holbrook can spark a connection with his screen partner Paul Schneider, who couldn’t look more bored. Holbrook plays the elder Jacob, and his problem with Schneider appears to be a lifelong affliction. Pattinson, who plays young Jacob, is too distant to be an engaging protagonist, and it shows in his lifeless romance with Witherspoon.

Jacob’s story of a boy who runs away and joins the circus is really the least engaging part of the film. His quarrels with August and affair with Marlena pail in comparison to Lawrence’s circus, which is elegant and romantic. Much of this is the result of Pattinson’s coy performance, which brought him instant fame in the “Twilight Saga,” but fails him here. Lawrence needs a ring leader to draw in crowds. Pattinson, on the other hand, couldn’t be more distant.

“Water for Elephants” isn’t a bad film. Lawrence has a decent story and a great eye for capturing it. Witherspoon, with her delicate movements and some soft lighting, has a great classic Hollywood feel, while Waltz, as always, gives an emotionally complicated performance. But the star, the person we’re supposedly interested in following, that confused looking veterinarian on the screen, couldn’t be less interested in entertaining us.

Grade: C+

“The Conspirator” Movie Review

Directed by Robert Redford, Written by James Solomon and Gregory Bernstein, 123 minutes, Rated PG-13.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

Despite director Robert Redford’s best intentions, “The Conspirator” never gains the passion it tries to imbue. Instead, Redford’s story tip-toes from one dingy setting to the next, quietly recounting the war council’s indictment of the team responsible for President Lincoln’s death. These slow turns and soft-spoken performances make for distant characters and result in a factual film that’s hard to care about.

The murder of President Lincoln sent shockwaves through the nation. So, when it came time to punish those responsible, finding a legal team for the accused proved difficult. Proving their guilt was patriotic, but maintaining their innocence was traitorous.

Enter Frederick Akin (James McAvoy), a Civil War hero turned attorney, charged with defending Mary Surratt (Robin Wright-Penn), the mother of a fugitive conspirator. As her innocence becomes apparent, and the trial’s corruption boils to the surface, Akin discovers that the prosecution will come at the cost of a fair trial.

McAvoy’s Akin carries Redford’s film. The actor’s transformation from a dismissive lawyer to a passionate defender of the constitution is the film’s most engaging part. It comes as a sharp contrast to the film’s first half, which, coupled with Wright-Penn’s barely-there Surratt, gives us few reasons to care. It’s not until Akin decides to start caring about Surratt that Redford does, too.

Redford distances his audience from the characters in the first half, focusing more on his impressive production design. His gold lighting schemes and dusty settings look like an old photograph, which set the right tone for the film. The director establishes historical accuracy through these detailed sets, but narratively, this focus is a distraction.

Unlike the gripping style of the inaccurate “JFK,” Redford makes a film that feels like a cheesy History channel dramatization with a budget. He never finds a notable way to tell the story, settling for a typical period piece complete with harshly whispered courtroom drama and a melodramatic score. In this case, historical accuracy slows down the plot until the trial gets underway, playing in opposition to McAvoy’s urgent and complex performance, and thus, detracting from the film’s earnest intentions.

While the film gets points for speaking to history buffs, and doing so with care, everyone else will fight off sleep until the 60-minute mark.

Grade: C

“The Conspirator” Movie Review

Directed by Robert Redford, Written by James Solomon and Gregory Bernstein, 123 minutes, Rated PG-13.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

Despite director Robert Redford’s best intentions, “The Conspirator” never gains the passion it tries to imbue. Instead, Redford’s story tip-toes from one dingy setting to the next, quietly recounting the war council’s indictment of the team responsible for President Lincoln’s death. These slow turns and soft-spoken performances make for distant characters and result in a factual film that’s hard to care about.

The murder of President Lincoln sent shockwaves through the nation. So, when it came time to punish those responsible, finding a legal team for the accused proved difficult. Proving their guilt was patriotic, but maintaining their innocence was traitorous.

Enter Frederick Akin (James McAvoy), a Civil War hero turned attorney, charged with defending Mary Surratt (Robin Wright-Penn), the mother of a fugitive conspirator. As her innocence becomes apparent, and the trial’s corruption boils to the surface, Akin discovers that the prosecution will come at the cost of a fair trial.

McAvoy’s Akin carries Redford’s film. The actor’s transformation from a dismissive lawyer to a passionate defender of the constitution is the film’s most engaging part. It comes as a sharp contrast to the film’s first half, which, coupled with Wright-Penn’s barely-there Surratt, gives us few reasons to care. It’s not until Akin decides to start caring about Surratt that Redford does, too.

Redford distances his audience from the characters in the first half, focusing more on his impressive production design. His gold lighting schemes and dusty settings look like an old photograph, which set the right tone for the film. The director establishes historical accuracy through these detailed sets, but narratively, this focus is a distraction.

Unlike the gripping style of the inaccurate “JFK,” Redford makes a film that feels like a cheesy History channel dramatization with a budget. He never finds a notable way to tell the story, settling for a typical period piece complete with harshly whispered courtroom drama and a melodramatic score. In this case, historical accuracy slows down the plot until the trial gets underway, playing in opposition to McAvoy’s urgent and complex performance, and thus, detracting from the film’s earnest intentions.

While the film gets points for speaking to history buffs, and doing so with care, everyone else will fight off sleep until the 60-minute mark.

Grade: C

"I Love You Philip Morris"

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, Written Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, and Steve McVicker (book), 98 minutes, Rated R.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

Glenn Ficarra and John Requa took a six-year break between the instant cult-classic "Bad Santa" and their long-delayed, perverse companion piece to "Catch Me If You Can," "I Love You Philip Morris." In that time, the filmmakers learned a thing or two about sleight of hand. "Morris" is a sly, deceptive comedy that frequent stays one step ahead of the viewer, keeping its darkest cards close to the chest. However, Ficarra and Requa ace isn't the violent, raunchy humor, it's how emotionally complex he portrays the romance of Philip Morris and con-man Steven Russell.

"I Love You Philip Morris" opens like an episode of "Ozzy and Harriet." Jim Carrey plays Steven Russell, all around, warm-blooded American family man, with a great wife (Leslie Mann) and a song in his heart. There's just one tiny detail: He's gay.

To keep his wife and good job, Russell hides his extra-martial interests, until a car accident awakens him from his suburban nightmare and tells him to move to Florida, where he can live the lavish life of middle-aged gay man--and, boy, does he ever.

After plowing through his savings, Russell takes a part time job as a con-man, forging checks and credit cards to pay for his extravagant habits. Eventually, his con and the police catch up with him, landing him in jail. It is here that he meets Philip Morris (Ewan McGregor), the love of his life.

The rest of the film features Russell moving in and out of jail to either be with or free Morris. Ficarra and Requa juxtapose their gentle romance with their trademark violent humor. Russell performs random acts of kindness by sending chocolate to Morris, in one scene, and has Morris’ maniacal cellmate ruthlessly beaten in another. Each gesture is just more romantic than the last.

The two aspects of Russo's personality (the con-man and the lover) are the two most important pieces to Ficarra and Requa's film. Carrey builds a strong, emotional bond with McGregor, uncommon in a comedy this dark. Ficarra and Requa use this emotion to distract us from the frequent surprises in store. They’ll just as soon capture an emotional embrace between the star-crossed lovers as a painful one between Russo and concrete. This keeps the film both emotionally engaging and hilariously violent.

"I Love You Philip Morris" remains so intriguing because of both surprises. Ficarra and Requa's filming style tricks the viewer, allowing the jokes to slap the viewer in the face. But rather than laugh at the viewer, they welcome them with the touching story of a con-man and an ex-con that's got a lot up its sleeve.

Grade: B+

"I Love You Philip Morris"

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, Written Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, and Steve McVicker (book), 98 minutes, Rated R.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

Glenn Ficarra and John Requa took a six-year break between the instant cult-classic "Bad Santa" and their long-delayed, perverse companion piece to "Catch Me If You Can," "I Love You Philip Morris." In that time, the filmmakers learned a thing or two about sleight of hand. "Morris" is a sly, deceptive comedy that frequent stays one step ahead of the viewer, keeping its darkest cards close to the chest. However, Ficarra and Requa ace isn't the violent, raunchy humor, it's how emotionally complex he portrays the romance of Philip Morris and con-man Steven Russell.

"I Love You Philip Morris" opens like an episode of "Ozzy and Harriet." Jim Carrey plays Steven Russell, all around, warm-blooded American family man, with a great wife (Leslie Mann) and a song in his heart. There's just one tiny detail: He's gay.

To keep his wife and good job, Russell hides his extra-martial interests, until a car accident awakens him from his suburban nightmare and tells him to move to Florida, where he can live the lavish life of middle-aged gay man--and, boy, does he ever.

After plowing through his savings, Russell takes a part time job as a con-man, forging checks and credit cards to pay for his extravagant habits. Eventually, his con and the police catch up with him, landing him in jail. It is here that he meets Philip Morris (Ewan McGregor), the love of his life.

The rest of the film features Russell moving in and out of jail to either be with or free Morris. Ficarra and Requa juxtapose their gentle romance with their trademark violent humor. Russell performs random acts of kindness by sending chocolate to Morris, in one scene, and has Morris’ maniacal cellmate ruthlessly beaten in another. Each gesture is just more romantic than the last.

The two aspects of Russo's personality (the con-man and the lover) are the two most important pieces to Ficarra and Requa's film. Carrey builds a strong, emotional bond with McGregor, uncommon in a comedy this dark. Ficarra and Requa use this emotion to distract us from the frequent surprises in store. They’ll just as soon capture an emotional embrace between the star-crossed lovers as a painful one between Russo and concrete. This keeps the film both emotionally engaging and hilariously violent.

"I Love You Philip Morris" remains so intriguing because of both surprises. Ficarra and Requa's filming style tricks the viewer, allowing the jokes to slap the viewer in the face. But rather than laugh at the viewer, they welcome them with the touching story of a con-man and an ex-con that's got a lot up its sleeve.

Grade: B+

"Country Strong"

DVD, Blu-Ray Review

Directed by Shana Feste, Written by Shana Feste, 117 minutes, Rated PG-13.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

Like a bad reality show for the country music set, “Country Strong” plays out all the melodramas one would expect from a movie about alcoholic pop-stars. With its boot-stomping new-country soundtrack and incoherent storytelling, the film will only please on a musical level—and even that is regulated to fans of country music. From its cliché plot to the several false conclusions, each one more bizarre than the last, "Country Strong" is an overlong piece of fluff. It's certainly better than you'd expect with occasional spurts of enjoyment from its key players, but it isn’t enough to warrant its two-hour running time.

"Country Strong" portrays the "Behind the Music" dramatization of fictional country music superstar Kelly Canter, as realized by the far too-beautiful-and-healthy-to-be-a-drunk Gwyneth Paltrow. Since spiraling into rehab after a recent onstage fall and subsequent miscarriage, Kelly meets the unfortunately named orderly and musician Beau Hutton (Garrett Hedlund).

This doesn’t please her husband, James (Tim McGraw), who pressures her into leaving rehab and head out on the road. Kelly, impressed by the songs Beau serenaded her with in rehab, invites him to be her opening act, because, you know, that's how these things work, and James invites a younger version of Kelly, the equally unfortunately named Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester). Things play out much as you'd expect: Kelly fools around with Beau, suspects her husband of fooling around with Chiles, and amidst her jealousy drinks and cries and drinks.

Feste’s script isn’t clear as to whom this story is about. Is the film about Kelly’s descent into pills and booze? Or is it about Beau’s rise to the top while trying to hang on to his integrity? The film is rarely clear on this front and, in trying to make room for both, loses the narrative. There are so many drag out fights and tears that the film can’t make heads or tails of who’s got it the hardest.

Occasionally, the cast does break through the script’s shortcomings in fleeting moments of enjoyment. Paltrow remains the most equipped to carry her scenes, but even she can’t look convincing while melodramatically reaching for the bottle. The rest serve as one note characters: James is stern, Beau is charming and Chiles is cute.

By all accounts, “Country Strong” is better that most will give it credit for. Sadly, it still gives way to melodrama more often than it should, making the gloomier moments appear unintentionally funny and the happier ones, unintentionally sad.

Grade: C

"Country Strong"

DVD, Blu-Ray Review

Directed by Shana Feste, Written by Shana Feste, 117 minutes, Rated PG-13.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

Like a bad reality show for the country music set, “Country Strong” plays out all the melodramas one would expect from a movie about alcoholic pop-stars. With its boot-stomping new-country soundtrack and incoherent storytelling, the film will only please on a musical level—and even that is regulated to fans of country music. From its cliché plot to the several false conclusions, each one more bizarre than the last, "Country Strong" is an overlong piece of fluff. It's certainly better than you'd expect with occasional spurts of enjoyment from its key players, but it isn’t enough to warrant its two-hour running time.

"Country Strong" portrays the "Behind the Music" dramatization of fictional country music superstar Kelly Canter, as realized by the far too-beautiful-and-healthy-to-be-a-drunk Gwyneth Paltrow. Since spiraling into rehab after a recent onstage fall and subsequent miscarriage, Kelly meets the unfortunately named orderly and musician Beau Hutton (Garrett Hedlund).

This doesn’t please her husband, James (Tim McGraw), who pressures her into leaving rehab and head out on the road. Kelly, impressed by the songs Beau serenaded her with in rehab, invites him to be her opening act, because, you know, that's how these things work, and James invites a younger version of Kelly, the equally unfortunately named Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester). Things play out much as you'd expect: Kelly fools around with Beau, suspects her husband of fooling around with Chiles, and amidst her jealousy drinks and cries and drinks.

Feste’s script isn’t clear as to whom this story is about. Is the film about Kelly’s descent into pills and booze? Or is it about Beau’s rise to the top while trying to hang on to his integrity? The film is rarely clear on this front and, in trying to make room for both, loses the narrative. There are so many drag out fights and tears that the film can’t make heads or tails of who’s got it the hardest.

Occasionally, the cast does break through the script’s shortcomings in fleeting moments of enjoyment. Paltrow remains the most equipped to carry her scenes, but even she can’t look convincing while melodramatically reaching for the bottle. The rest serve as one note characters: James is stern, Beau is charming and Chiles is cute.

By all accounts, “Country Strong” is better that most will give it credit for. Sadly, it still gives way to melodrama more often than it should, making the gloomier moments appear unintentionally funny and the happier ones, unintentionally sad.

Grade: C

“Hanna”

Movie Review

Directed by Joe Wright, Written by Seth Lochhead and David Farr, 111 minutes, Rated PG-13.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

“Hanna” isn’t your typical action movie. From its star to its low-key electronic soundtrack, the film sharply contrasts usual shoot-em-up fare. Gravitating between the story of an assassin born to kill and a young girl coming of age, Joe Wright delivers a fascinating look at what we expect from action movies, subverts those expectations, while also playing to them.

Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is the name of our hero. Born into a life of hunting and running, her father (Eric Bana) raised her to become a well-oiled killing machine, testing her abilities to adapt and survive in the harsh wintry climates of Finland. Her past, kept secret for fear that a team of mysterious captors would come to their cabin and kill her and her father.

However, all children must one day leave the nest, and when Hanna decides to live a life outside of her cabin, she makes a choice to signal her captors and make a run for it.

From here, the film takes on a variety of point-of-views. The first, and most important, is Hanna’s. She escapes to Germany where, for the first time, she experiences a world totally unlike her own. Hanna uses electricity for the first time, in one disorienting and frightening scene, as well as makes her first friend, a fellow teenage girl named Sophie (Jessica Barden).

All the while, two teams pursue her: Her father in his desperate attempt to reconvene with Hanna, and Marissa (Cate Blanchett), her father’s former partner, who has a mysterious interest in the young assassin.

Hanna’s journey isn’t merely marked by her interest in other cultures--all of which remain foreign to her--but also her survival. Marissa and her cohorts go on a murderous rampage in their pursuit of the girl, taking apart anyone who stands in their way.

Wright makes this distinction through his quick transitions, manic camera work, and versatile soundtrack provided by the Chemical Brothers. The director keeps the two stories (Hanna’s coming of age and Hanna’s survival) cleverly intertwined, allowing her to handle these changes in her own way. She kills her attackers and openly accepts her newfound friendships.

The film keeps up this energy through this division. As one starts to slow down, usually when Hanna’s joy takes over, the other will quickly jog us back to the chase. It’s a balancing act the stars, particularly the young Saoirse Ronan, who takes on her first starring role magnificently, keep up with emotion and energy.

There are some slight pacing problems towards the middle, but, for the most part, the film tackles the tricky subject in a new and interesting way. “Hanna” delivers the action to those in the mood for gunplay with insight sorely missing in today’s action films.

Grade: B+

“Hanna”

Movie Review

Directed by Joe Wright, Written by Seth Lochhead and David Farr, 111 minutes, Rated PG-13.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

“Hanna” isn’t your typical action movie. From its star to its low-key electronic soundtrack, the film sharply contrasts usual shoot-em-up fare. Gravitating between the story of an assassin born to kill and a young girl coming of age, Joe Wright delivers a fascinating look at what we expect from action movies, subverts those expectations, while also playing to them.

Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is the name of our hero. Born into a life of hunting and running, her father (Eric Bana) raised her to become a well-oiled killing machine, testing her abilities to adapt and survive in the harsh wintry climates of Finland. Her past, kept secret for fear that a team of mysterious captors would come to their cabin and kill her and her father.

However, all children must one day leave the nest, and when Hanna decides to live a life outside of her cabin, she makes a choice to signal her captors and make a run for it.

From here, the film takes on a variety of point-of-views. The first, and most important, is Hanna’s. She escapes to Germany where, for the first time, she experiences a world totally unlike her own. Hanna uses electricity for the first time, in one disorienting and frightening scene, as well as makes her first friend, a fellow teenage girl named Sophie (Jessica Barden).

All the while, two teams pursue her: Her father in his desperate attempt to reconvene with Hanna, and Marissa (Cate Blanchett), her father’s former partner, who has a mysterious interest in the young assassin.

Hanna’s journey isn’t merely marked by her interest in other cultures--all of which remain foreign to her--but also her survival. Marissa and her cohorts go on a murderous rampage in their pursuit of the girl, taking apart anyone who stands in their way.

Wright makes this distinction through his quick transitions, manic camera work, and versatile soundtrack provided by the Chemical Brothers. The director keeps the two stories (Hanna’s coming of age and Hanna’s survival) cleverly intertwined, allowing her to handle these changes in her own way. She kills her attackers and openly accepts her newfound friendships.

The film keeps up this energy through this division. As one starts to slow down, usually when Hanna’s joy takes over, the other will quickly jog us back to the chase. It’s a balancing act the stars, particularly the young Saoirse Ronan, who takes on her first starring role magnificently, keep up with emotion and energy.

There are some slight pacing problems towards the middle, but, for the most part, the film tackles the tricky subject in a new and interesting way. “Hanna” delivers the action to those in the mood for gunplay with insight sorely missing in today’s action films.

Grade: B+

"Lars and the Real Girl"

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

Directed by Craig Gillespie, written by Nancy Oliver, 106 minutes, rated PG-13.

By Christoher Smith

Craig Gillespie’s "Lars and the Real Girl" is the story of 27-year-old Lars Lindstrom (Ryan Gosling), a shy, God-fearing man who orders a life-size sex doll through the Internet and eventually accepts her not only as a real person, but also as his new girlfriend, Bianca, a half-Brazilian, half-Danish missionary.

Good for him, you say? Not so fast.

The trouble with Lars is that none of this is a joke. He expects everyone in his life to accept Bianca as a living human being, which not only sounds screwy given Bianca’s rubbery mouth, corked gaze and strawlike hooker wig, but also, as far as this movie is concerned, painfully manufactured and a wee bit creepy.

Given the subject matter, it’s easy to go into the movie armed with resistance — the whole premise is a stretch. After its awkward opening moments, it’s also just as easy to dismiss it, particularly since it initially isn’t clear whether the film is intended to be a comedy or a drama.

But then the director does something unexpected. Working from Nancy Oliver’s script, he starts to unfold the rest of the plot with such grace and seriousness that he nudges you into acceptance of the absurd. It takes time for that to happen — this is a movie that grows on you — but when you come to believe what Lars believes, what ensues can be disarmingly powerful.

How Lars came to this fractured point in his life is a complication best left for the screen to explore, but what can safely be said is that Lars’ older brother, Gus (Paul Schneider), left the family at its lowest point, thus leaving Lars scarred with abandonment issues.

Now those issues have come to a head in ways that Gus, his wife, Karin (Emily Mortimer), Lars’ co-workers (including the terrific Kelli Garner), a local doctor (Patricia Clarkson, excellent) and the entire town must face. This young man is mentally ill and he needs their help. Are they willing to go along with Lars’ delusion in the hopes that he’ll come through it?

Since that means accepting Bianca as a real person, it’s a tall order, to say the least. But as the local pastor puts it to this rural town of Midwesterners, "What would Jesus do?"

What ensues is touching, not schmaltzy, an intelligent film that proves sometimes it really does take a village to change a life — or at least to make an effort to change it. The neat sleight-of-hand the movie achieves is how the townspeople come to need Bianca almost as much as Lars does. This sex doll with the fiery-cold stare and the opened silicone limbs brings the community together in ways for which she never was intended, but there she is, a miracle worker whose ample chest is pinned with dozens of hopes.

Marked by its excellent performances — the movie would have collapsed without the strength of its cast, all of whom play the material mostly straight — "Lars and the Real Girl" looks at life with a frankness and a patience that’s refreshing.

Grade: B+

"Lars and the Real Girl"

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

Directed by Craig Gillespie, written by Nancy Oliver, 106 minutes, rated PG-13.

By Christoher Smith

Craig Gillespie’s "Lars and the Real Girl" is the story of 27-year-old Lars Lindstrom (Ryan Gosling), a shy, God-fearing man who orders a life-size sex doll through the Internet and eventually accepts her not only as a real person, but also as his new girlfriend, Bianca, a half-Brazilian, half-Danish missionary.

Good for him, you say? Not so fast.

The trouble with Lars is that none of this is a joke. He expects everyone in his life to accept Bianca as a living human being, which not only sounds screwy given Bianca’s rubbery mouth, corked gaze and strawlike hooker wig, but also, as far as this movie is concerned, painfully manufactured and a wee bit creepy.

Given the subject matter, it’s easy to go into the movie armed with resistance — the whole premise is a stretch. After its awkward opening moments, it’s also just as easy to dismiss it, particularly since it initially isn’t clear whether the film is intended to be a comedy or a drama.

But then the director does something unexpected. Working from Nancy Oliver’s script, he starts to unfold the rest of the plot with such grace and seriousness that he nudges you into acceptance of the absurd. It takes time for that to happen — this is a movie that grows on you — but when you come to believe what Lars believes, what ensues can be disarmingly powerful.

How Lars came to this fractured point in his life is a complication best left for the screen to explore, but what can safely be said is that Lars’ older brother, Gus (Paul Schneider), left the family at its lowest point, thus leaving Lars scarred with abandonment issues.

Now those issues have come to a head in ways that Gus, his wife, Karin (Emily Mortimer), Lars’ co-workers (including the terrific Kelli Garner), a local doctor (Patricia Clarkson, excellent) and the entire town must face. This young man is mentally ill and he needs their help. Are they willing to go along with Lars’ delusion in the hopes that he’ll come through it?

Since that means accepting Bianca as a real person, it’s a tall order, to say the least. But as the local pastor puts it to this rural town of Midwesterners, "What would Jesus do?"

What ensues is touching, not schmaltzy, an intelligent film that proves sometimes it really does take a village to change a life — or at least to make an effort to change it. The neat sleight-of-hand the movie achieves is how the townspeople come to need Bianca almost as much as Lars does. This sex doll with the fiery-cold stare and the opened silicone limbs brings the community together in ways for which she never was intended, but there she is, a miracle worker whose ample chest is pinned with dozens of hopes.

Marked by its excellent performances — the movie would have collapsed without the strength of its cast, all of whom play the material mostly straight — "Lars and the Real Girl" looks at life with a frankness and a patience that’s refreshing.

Grade: B+

“De-Lovely”

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

Directed by Irwin Winkler, written by Jay Cocks, 125 minutes, rated PG-13.

By Christopher Smith

In “De-Lovely,” the entertaining, often salacious period musical that chronicles the highs and lows of Cole Porter’s life, it’s the complexity of being Cole Porter that director Irwin Winkler and screenwriter Jay Cocks work to get right.

Porter, who dominated the early to mid-20th century music scene with his stunning catalog of songs, is viewed here as a wealthy, self-destructive, bon vivant bisexual, with a clear interest in exploring his homosexual leanings. As played by Kevin Kline in a jaunty, anything goes performance, he did so, too, with an openness and an enthusiasm that eventually put a strain on his 35-year marriage to his wife, the glamorous Linda Thomas (Ashley Judd).

Not that he deceived her. According to the movie, Porter was clear with Linda about his interest in men before they married. They had, shall we say, an unconventional relationship. They also had an unspoken agreement, with Linda breezily suggesting to Porter early in their relationship that “look--you like men more than I do,” thus essentially letting him off the hook to fool around.


What comes through in the movie is this—regardless of the cost, Linda wanted Porter’s heart and soul. No matter what, she wanted to be near his talent and infectious charm. What he did on the side was none of her business so long as he was discrete and that it didn’t interfere with the bones of their relationship.

Since nothing can ever be so neat where emotions are involved, they’re not neat here. That said, they’re also not as messy as they could have been.

Covering nearly 40 years, the movie begins in 1964, the year of Porter’s death, with an elderly, dying Porter viewing his life with the help of Gabe (Jonathan Pryce), a mysterious Broadway producer who seems as if he stepped out of a Bob Fosse version of “A Christmas Carol.” Essentially, he’s the Angel of Death with a stage voice and a spotlight on his face.

On the stage before them, scenes of Porter’s life unfold, with Porter periodically discussing with Gabe those tantamount, defining moments that lifted him up, crushed him down (literally in one scene) and shaped him into the lonely, unhappy man he became.

As Porter, Kline may be too good looking for the part, but his performance is so convincing, he nevertheless persuades you to believe he’s the man. He has Porter’s wit, his complexity, his sophistication. He also sings here, nicely, as does Judd, who may once again be playing a woman in peril, but at least this time out she’s not tracking down some shady serial killer in the process.
 
Here, she’s refined, racy and lovely, possessing the very spark that likely proved the inspiration for so many of Porter’s songs. Like Kline, she’s alive and game for anything, which allows us to understand the strength of the Porters’ bond, which threatened to break apart more than once.

In the end, it’s Winkler’s willingness to explore Porter’s sexuality that marks “De-Lovely” as a departure from the slight, 1946 biopic of his life, “Night for Day,” in which Cary Grant’s Porter didn’t give a hint of the composer’s real sexual inclinations.

Whereas that movie was a cover-up, this one tosses back the sheets and allows us a glimpse at what occurred beneath them. In spite of the film’s awkward, gimmicky structure—and several songs by contemporary performers that are occasionally strained, with the exception of Robbie Williams, Natalie Cole and Alanis Morissette--the movie does offer insight into a man whose lyrics are now underscored with the deeper, hidden rhythms of truth.

Grade: B

“De-Lovely”

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

Directed by Irwin Winkler, written by Jay Cocks, 125 minutes, rated PG-13.

By Christopher Smith

In “De-Lovely,” the entertaining, often salacious period musical that chronicles the highs and lows of Cole Porter’s life, it’s the complexity of being Cole Porter that director Irwin Winkler and screenwriter Jay Cocks work to get right.

Porter, who dominated the early to mid-20th century music scene with his stunning catalog of songs, is viewed here as a wealthy, self-destructive, bon vivant bisexual, with a clear interest in exploring his homosexual leanings. As played by Kevin Kline in a jaunty, anything goes performance, he did so, too, with an openness and an enthusiasm that eventually put a strain on his 35-year marriage to his wife, the glamorous Linda Thomas (Ashley Judd).

Not that he deceived her. According to the movie, Porter was clear with Linda about his interest in men before they married. They had, shall we say, an unconventional relationship. They also had an unspoken agreement, with Linda breezily suggesting to Porter early in their relationship that “look--you like men more than I do,” thus essentially letting him off the hook to fool around.


What comes through in the movie is this—regardless of the cost, Linda wanted Porter’s heart and soul. No matter what, she wanted to be near his talent and infectious charm. What he did on the side was none of her business so long as he was discrete and that it didn’t interfere with the bones of their relationship.

Since nothing can ever be so neat where emotions are involved, they’re not neat here. That said, they’re also not as messy as they could have been.

Covering nearly 40 years, the movie begins in 1964, the year of Porter’s death, with an elderly, dying Porter viewing his life with the help of Gabe (Jonathan Pryce), a mysterious Broadway producer who seems as if he stepped out of a Bob Fosse version of “A Christmas Carol.” Essentially, he’s the Angel of Death with a stage voice and a spotlight on his face.

On the stage before them, scenes of Porter’s life unfold, with Porter periodically discussing with Gabe those tantamount, defining moments that lifted him up, crushed him down (literally in one scene) and shaped him into the lonely, unhappy man he became.

As Porter, Kline may be too good looking for the part, but his performance is so convincing, he nevertheless persuades you to believe he’s the man. He has Porter’s wit, his complexity, his sophistication. He also sings here, nicely, as does Judd, who may once again be playing a woman in peril, but at least this time out she’s not tracking down some shady serial killer in the process.
 
Here, she’s refined, racy and lovely, possessing the very spark that likely proved the inspiration for so many of Porter’s songs. Like Kline, she’s alive and game for anything, which allows us to understand the strength of the Porters’ bond, which threatened to break apart more than once.

In the end, it’s Winkler’s willingness to explore Porter’s sexuality that marks “De-Lovely” as a departure from the slight, 1946 biopic of his life, “Night for Day,” in which Cary Grant’s Porter didn’t give a hint of the composer’s real sexual inclinations.

Whereas that movie was a cover-up, this one tosses back the sheets and allows us a glimpse at what occurred beneath them. In spite of the film’s awkward, gimmicky structure—and several songs by contemporary performers that are occasionally strained, with the exception of Robbie Williams, Natalie Cole and Alanis Morissette--the movie does offer insight into a man whose lyrics are now underscored with the deeper, hidden rhythms of truth.

Grade: B

"A.I. Artificial Intelligence"

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

Written and directed by Steven Spielberg, 145 minutes, rated PG-13.

By Christopher Smith

After an intriguing opening that lays the foundation for the story of David (Haley Joel Osment), a robotic boy who longs to be human, Steven Spielberg’s uneven collaboration with the late Stanley Kubrick, “A.I.,” becomes a fascinating mess.

Technically strong yet emotionally sterile, it raises a handful of questions about the meaning of love and our responsibility to those high-tech toys we’ll one day create in our own images, but it ultimately finds Spielberg reaching too hard to honor Kubrick’s vision--not to mention his own.

The film is comprised of three acts--the first nicely captures the chill of Kubrick, the second gives in to the sap of Spielberg, and the last is a weird hybrid of each director’s personal style.

In the best part of the film, the first third, David is introduced to Monica and Henry Swinton (Frances O’Connor and Sam Robards), an unlikable couple whose terminally ill son, Martin (Jake Thomas), is being cryogenically preserved until a cure can be found to heal him. Desperate to fill the hole left in their son’s absence, the Swinton’s turn to David, a walking, talking doll who has been programmed to love.

But when David is abandoned by Monica, whom he is certain is his mother, Spielberg breaks from his canny imitation of Kubrick’s style to employ all the tricks for which he himself is known--rousing action, teary-eyed sentiment, innocence threatened, the search for home, love lost and found. It’s a jarring transition, but Spielberg, ever the entertainer, can’t help himself.

Now, with David lost to the wilds of the world, the rest of the film demands that we invest ourselves in a machine whose love isn’t real and never can be real. It’s artificial, the work of transistors, battery packs, animatronics. But does the artificiality of David’s love make it any less valid simply because he’s a robot? As "A.I." presses into its second hour, Spielberg struggles to find an answer that wouldn’t just please Kubric, but also himself.

With Jude Law in an astonishing performance as Gigolo Joe, a polished robot who takes David to the evil city as the wolf did to Pinocchio, “A.I.” builds to an inevitable ending. Spielberg wants us to weep, but Kubrick wants us to think. Audiences will find a middle ground, but it won’t be one that satisfies.

Grade: C+

"A.I. Artificial Intelligence"

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

Written and directed by Steven Spielberg, 145 minutes, rated PG-13.

By Christopher Smith

After an intriguing opening that lays the foundation for the story of David (Haley Joel Osment), a robotic boy who longs to be human, Steven Spielberg’s uneven collaboration with the late Stanley Kubrick, “A.I.,” becomes a fascinating mess.

Technically strong yet emotionally sterile, it raises a handful of questions about the meaning of love and our responsibility to those high-tech toys we’ll one day create in our own images, but it ultimately finds Spielberg reaching too hard to honor Kubrick’s vision--not to mention his own.

The film is comprised of three acts--the first nicely captures the chill of Kubrick, the second gives in to the sap of Spielberg, and the last is a weird hybrid of each director’s personal style.

In the best part of the film, the first third, David is introduced to Monica and Henry Swinton (Frances O’Connor and Sam Robards), an unlikable couple whose terminally ill son, Martin (Jake Thomas), is being cryogenically preserved until a cure can be found to heal him. Desperate to fill the hole left in their son’s absence, the Swinton’s turn to David, a walking, talking doll who has been programmed to love.

But when David is abandoned by Monica, whom he is certain is his mother, Spielberg breaks from his canny imitation of Kubrick’s style to employ all the tricks for which he himself is known--rousing action, teary-eyed sentiment, innocence threatened, the search for home, love lost and found. It’s a jarring transition, but Spielberg, ever the entertainer, can’t help himself.

Now, with David lost to the wilds of the world, the rest of the film demands that we invest ourselves in a machine whose love isn’t real and never can be real. It’s artificial, the work of transistors, battery packs, animatronics. But does the artificiality of David’s love make it any less valid simply because he’s a robot? As "A.I." presses into its second hour, Spielberg struggles to find an answer that wouldn’t just please Kubric, but also himself.

With Jude Law in an astonishing performance as Gigolo Joe, a polished robot who takes David to the evil city as the wolf did to Pinocchio, “A.I.” builds to an inevitable ending. Spielberg wants us to weep, but Kubrick wants us to think. Audiences will find a middle ground, but it won’t be one that satisfies.

Grade: C+

“Limitless”

Movie Review

Directed by Neil Burger, Written by Leslie Dixon and Alan Glynn (novel), 105 minutes, PG-13.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

If you could access every corner of your brain, what would you? Write an epic sci-fi manifesto? Play the stock market? Or simply take your chances with some murderous gangsters? Well, if you’re Eddie Morra in “Limitless,” you dip your hands in a little bit of everything, even if the results aren’t always as boundless as they may appear.

Bradley Cooper stars as Morra, a down on his luck writer, with an overdue book, struggling for a way out. Then, a chance encounter provides him with one. Eddie runs into his ex-brother-in-law, Vern (Johnny Whitworth), who offers him an experimental new drug called MDT, designed to open all of the closed doors of his mind.

Within moments of taking his first dose, Morra is hooked. MDT allows him to finish his book with speed and success, but he wants more. Morra takes a $100,000 loan from a local hitman (Andrew Howard) and plays the stock market, where he meets Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro), a market mogul impressed by Morra’s quick rise to success.

However, as the drug begins to take hold of Eddie’s life, his drug-induced fantasy turns into a violent, paranoid nightmare. And as he loses control, everyone he meets on the way up, shows up to kick him on the way back down.

Neil Burger’s “Limitless” commits completely to its conceit of the wonder drug that can make anyone’s dreams come true. His visceral effects and clever editing lend to a kinetic ride, if not a disorienting one. Morra’s out-of-body experiences have hints of “Fight Club” and “Requiem for a Dream,” but Burger’s camera work never entirely matches the coolness of the idea or his star.

Bradley Cooper manages the many sides of Morra successfully, shifting from hapless writer to suave Wall Street mastermind to drug fiend seamlessly. Burger captures Morra’s growth effectively, and in a movie about a guy who learns twice as fast as a normal man, this goes a long way towards making his journey engaging.

“Limitless” delivers the goods in terms of fun, suspense, and an above average story. The twists and turns never appear without reason, and with Cooper delivering an assured, charismatic performance, Morra’s problems grab the audience and bring them closer to the film.

Burger’s direction may not be as cool or subtle as others, but it certainly gets the point across. He concentrates his efforts on getting us to like Morra, and Cooper, who generally plays a downright jerk, actually comes off as likable. “Limitless” may be bound by its constraints, yet its story is addictive enough to leave you wanting more.

Grade: B

“Limitless”

Movie Review

Directed by Neil Burger, Written by Leslie Dixon and Alan Glynn (novel), 105 minutes, PG-13.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

If you could access every corner of your brain, what would you? Write an epic sci-fi manifesto? Play the stock market? Or simply take your chances with some murderous gangsters? Well, if you’re Eddie Morra in “Limitless,” you dip your hands in a little bit of everything, even if the results aren’t always as boundless as they may appear.

Bradley Cooper stars as Morra, a down on his luck writer, with an overdue book, struggling for a way out. Then, a chance encounter provides him with one. Eddie runs into his ex-brother-in-law, Vern (Johnny Whitworth), who offers him an experimental new drug called MDT, designed to open all of the closed doors of his mind.

Within moments of taking his first dose, Morra is hooked. MDT allows him to finish his book with speed and success, but he wants more. Morra takes a $100,000 loan from a local hitman (Andrew Howard) and plays the stock market, where he meets Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro), a market mogul impressed by Morra’s quick rise to success.

However, as the drug begins to take hold of Eddie’s life, his drug-induced fantasy turns into a violent, paranoid nightmare. And as he loses control, everyone he meets on the way up, shows up to kick him on the way back down.

Neil Burger’s “Limitless” commits completely to its conceit of the wonder drug that can make anyone’s dreams come true. His visceral effects and clever editing lend to a kinetic ride, if not a disorienting one. Morra’s out-of-body experiences have hints of “Fight Club” and “Requiem for a Dream,” but Burger’s camera work never entirely matches the coolness of the idea or his star.

Bradley Cooper manages the many sides of Morra successfully, shifting from hapless writer to suave Wall Street mastermind to drug fiend seamlessly. Burger captures Morra’s growth effectively, and in a movie about a guy who learns twice as fast as a normal man, this goes a long way towards making his journey engaging.

“Limitless” delivers the goods in terms of fun, suspense, and an above average story. The twists and turns never appear without reason, and with Cooper delivering an assured, charismatic performance, Morra’s problems grab the audience and bring them closer to the film.

Burger’s direction may not be as cool or subtle as others, but it certainly gets the point across. He concentrates his efforts on getting us to like Morra, and Cooper, who generally plays a downright jerk, actually comes off as likable. “Limitless” may be bound by its constraints, yet its story is addictive enough to leave you wanting more.

Grade: B

“The Lincoln Lawyer”

Movie Review

Directed by Brad Furman, Written by John Romano and Michael Connelly, 119 minutes, Rated R.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowtiz

From its stylish opening right down to its hardboiled plotting, “The Lincoln Lawyer” makes a good case for a new type of legal drama – one steeped in noir and Los Angeles intrigue.

Brad Furman’s surefire directing of Michael Connelly’s novel investigates with gusto, building an intricate and entertaining story led by the assured Matthew McConaughey, who finally puts his charm to good use outside the realm of goofy romcoms. And McConaughey attacks with everything he’s got, adding the poise of a Bogart private eye, juggling the underworld with ease.

Smooth-talking Defense attorney, Mick Haller (McConaughey), wins his cases by the books and keeps LA’s worst on the streets. He’s a hustler – though not without his own code of conduct. Haller helps those without option, those guilty until proven innocent, which makes him an easy target for prosecutors and DAs.

When Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe), the rich son of a real estate mogul, finds himself in jail with charges of the attempted rape and murder of a prostitute, Haller’s the perfect man for the job. However, the more Roulet proclaims his innocence, the less likely it seems.

Saying anything more would spoil the fun. Furman and McConaughey confidently stay one setup ahead of their clients and the audience, injecting the film with enough mystery to instill the legal drama with the energy of modern noir. They make Haller out to be the Sam Spade of the legal system. He does his job well, with a confident smirk plastered to the side of his face.

But like Spade, Haller’s road isn’t an easy one, despite how he makes it look. While McConaughey plays him as a charming courtroom wiz, Romano’s script offers enough twists and danger to make his struggle compelling. As his case spirals out of control, Furman’s camera work zeros in on his confusion and fear, creating an often suspenseful look at one cocky lawyer. It might grow tired over time, but it’s more entertaining than the genre’s usual jury duty feel.

McConaughey’s confidence fits like a glove in the “The Lincoln Lawyer.” It’s the role he’s been waiting for, and coupled against Philippe’s easy-to-hate playboy and a great supporting cast, including William H. Macy and Marisa Tomei, Haller becomes one of the season’s most surprising characters, and “The Lincoln Lawyer” one of its best films.

Grade: B+

“The Lincoln Lawyer”

Movie Review

Directed by Brad Furman, Written by John Romano and Michael Connelly, 119 minutes, Rated R.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowtiz

From its stylish opening right down to its hardboiled plotting, “The Lincoln Lawyer” makes a good case for a new type of legal drama – one steeped in noir and Los Angeles intrigue.

Brad Furman’s surefire directing of Michael Connelly’s novel investigates with gusto, building an intricate and entertaining story led by the assured Matthew McConaughey, who finally puts his charm to good use outside the realm of goofy romcoms. And McConaughey attacks with everything he’s got, adding the poise of a Bogart private eye, juggling the underworld with ease.

Smooth-talking Defense attorney, Mick Haller (McConaughey), wins his cases by the books and keeps LA’s worst on the streets. He’s a hustler – though not without his own code of conduct. Haller helps those without option, those guilty until proven innocent, which makes him an easy target for prosecutors and DAs.

When Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe), the rich son of a real estate mogul, finds himself in jail with charges of the attempted rape and murder of a prostitute, Haller’s the perfect man for the job. However, the more Roulet proclaims his innocence, the less likely it seems.

Saying anything more would spoil the fun. Furman and McConaughey confidently stay one setup ahead of their clients and the audience, injecting the film with enough mystery to instill the legal drama with the energy of modern noir. They make Haller out to be the Sam Spade of the legal system. He does his job well, with a confident smirk plastered to the side of his face.

But like Spade, Haller’s road isn’t an easy one, despite how he makes it look. While McConaughey plays him as a charming courtroom wiz, Romano’s script offers enough twists and danger to make his struggle compelling. As his case spirals out of control, Furman’s camera work zeros in on his confusion and fear, creating an often suspenseful look at one cocky lawyer. It might grow tired over time, but it’s more entertaining than the genre’s usual jury duty feel.

McConaughey’s confidence fits like a glove in the “The Lincoln Lawyer.” It’s the role he’s been waiting for, and coupled against Philippe’s easy-to-hate playboy and a great supporting cast, including William H. Macy and Marisa Tomei, Haller becomes one of the season’s most surprising characters, and “The Lincoln Lawyer” one of its best films.

Grade: B+

"Beastly" 

Movie Review

Directed by Daniel Barnz, Written by Daniel Barnz and Alex Flynn (novel), 95 minutes, Rated PG-13.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

"Embrace the suck," pleads "Beastly" star Alex Pettyfer at the start of this "Twilight"-inspired retelling of "Beauty and the Beast."  It's as if he's prepping the audience to either accept the film's many, many foibles or subject yourself to its ugly center.

The film, by all accounts, is all the suck director/screenwriter Daniel Barnz asks us to embrace. Its lazy scripting, wooden performances and shallow revising of the source material renders the once-energetic tale of beauty's inception into a dull melodrama, dragging its easily digestible themes across the coals and transforming them into an ugly mess.

Kyle (Alex Pettyfer), the vain, malicious, attractive, popular and any other cliché you could tie to his character, proves that beauty is more than skin deep when local witch Mary Kate Olson puts a hex on his beautiful blond head and turns him into a grotesque beast for one year--unless he can convince a woman to love him. So, after about six months of moping and pining after his neglectful father (Peter Krause), he manages to imprison his dream girl Lindy (Vanessa Hugens) in his house, under the guise of protecting her from her father's vengeful drug dealers. Actually, the film's suck is truly something to behold.

Regulating his cast and crew to the CW school of script writing and acting, Barnes gives his film surprisingly little to work with. Their delivery is wooden, but with name calling like "Franken skanks" and "Fatty cakes," who can blame them? The director focuses on creating the shallowest version of the beast possible and, as such, he succeeds in creating the shallowest version yet of the beloved material.

Though Pettyfer really isn't endowed with a good script or stable motivation, his performance drains whatever life the film has. However, this much emphasis shouldn't be on him anyway. Barnes mistakenly places all of the focus on the beast, when this is also the story of the woman who comes to love him.

Lindy is all but completely ignored until the third act--and even then, Barnes keeps her locked up in bland clichés about seeing inner beauty and helping the needy. Sure, these are pieces of Belle's character, but Barnes foolishly only tells about them and expects us to embrace the suck.

"Beastly" is a poor representation of its source material and creates a monster out of it its inherent themes. Barnes' scripting is DOA, and its laziness extends to almost all areas of the production, especially Pettyfer's plastic-looking make-up. The only surprise "Beastly" holds is its surprising lack of werewolves, which, given the source material, it should embrace with open arms.

Grade: D+

"Beastly" 

Movie Review

Directed by Daniel Barnz, Written by Daniel Barnz and Alex Flynn (novel), 95 minutes, Rated PG-13.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

"Embrace the suck," pleads "Beastly" star Alex Pettyfer at the start of this "Twilight"-inspired retelling of "Beauty and the Beast."  It's as if he's prepping the audience to either accept the film's many, many foibles or subject yourself to its ugly center.

The film, by all accounts, is all the suck director/screenwriter Daniel Barnz asks us to embrace. Its lazy scripting, wooden performances and shallow revising of the source material renders the once-energetic tale of beauty's inception into a dull melodrama, dragging its easily digestible themes across the coals and transforming them into an ugly mess.

Kyle (Alex Pettyfer), the vain, malicious, attractive, popular and any other cliché you could tie to his character, proves that beauty is more than skin deep when local witch Mary Kate Olson puts a hex on his beautiful blond head and turns him into a grotesque beast for one year--unless he can convince a woman to love him. So, after about six months of moping and pining after his neglectful father (Peter Krause), he manages to imprison his dream girl Lindy (Vanessa Hugens) in his house, under the guise of protecting her from her father's vengeful drug dealers. Actually, the film's suck is truly something to behold.

Regulating his cast and crew to the CW school of script writing and acting, Barnes gives his film surprisingly little to work with. Their delivery is wooden, but with name calling like "Franken skanks" and "Fatty cakes," who can blame them? The director focuses on creating the shallowest version of the beast possible and, as such, he succeeds in creating the shallowest version yet of the beloved material.

Though Pettyfer really isn't endowed with a good script or stable motivation, his performance drains whatever life the film has. However, this much emphasis shouldn't be on him anyway. Barnes mistakenly places all of the focus on the beast, when this is also the story of the woman who comes to love him.

Lindy is all but completely ignored until the third act--and even then, Barnes keeps her locked up in bland clichés about seeing inner beauty and helping the needy. Sure, these are pieces of Belle's character, but Barnes foolishly only tells about them and expects us to embrace the suck.

"Beastly" is a poor representation of its source material and creates a monster out of it its inherent themes. Barnes' scripting is DOA, and its laziness extends to almost all areas of the production, especially Pettyfer's plastic-looking make-up. The only surprise "Beastly" holds is its surprising lack of werewolves, which, given the source material, it should embrace with open arms.

Grade: D+

"Barney's Version"

Movie Review

Written by Michael Konyves, based on the book by Mordecai Richler, directed by Richard J. Lewis, 134 minutes, rated R.

By our guest blogger, Joel Crabtree

Adapted from Mordecai Richler’s novel, “Bareny’s Version” takes on the unenviable task of building some sort of sympathy for an otherwise completely unlikable character. Although not entirely successful in its efforts, the film has enough going for it to keep it afloat.

With the onset of Alzheimer’s, Barney Ponofski (Paul Giamatti), a Canadian TV producer, reflects on his life, which consists of three failed marriages, Barney’s suspected killing of his junkie friend “Boogie” (Scott Speedman), and loads and loads of booze.

Barney's first marriage is a spur-of-the-moment ceremony in Rome to a psychologically damaged hippy named Clara (Rachelle Lefevre), the second is an arranged marriage to the obnoxious Second Mrs. P (Minnie Driver), and the third is nothing short of paradise to his ideal partner Mirium (Rosamund Pike, brilliant).

But, as you get to know Barney through the first two marriages (he sabotages his second marriage to get to his third), you’ll quickly realize that this paradise just wasn’t meant to be for Barney. It can be frustrating to watch Barney tear down what he has just set up, but that frustration is generated through the honesty within the anatomy of each relationship -- if you can even call the first two “relationships.”

His friendships, judging by the aforementioned suspected murder, aren’t much better. Barney’s best friend Boogie is an untrustworthy junkie, whose body disappears after a heated argument with Barney, making him the only suspect. Director Richard J. Lewis weaves this plot point throughout “Barney’s Version,” maintaining the mystery the whole way through.

There are hints of darkness sprinkled in throughout the first two acts, but the film manages to generate some laughs, albeit somewhat off-color. Somewhere in the third act, however, the movie takes a weighty dramatic turn, and that’s where the film seeks some form of redemption for Barney. It’s a challenge, to say the least, for both the filmmakers involved and the audience.

It’s the cast that really keeps the movie’s head above water, though. Giamatti loses himself in Barney, the type of role the actor was born to play. He mixes the light and the dark, being neurotically charming at moments and emotionally exploding at others. Dustin Hoffman has a blast playing Barney’s cop father, and Rosamund Pike steals the show.

The performances alone make the film worth seeing.

Grade: B

"Barney's Version"

Movie Review

Written by Michael Konyves, based on the book by Mordecai Richler, directed by Richard J. Lewis, 134 minutes, rated R.

By our guest blogger, Joel Crabtree

Adapted from Mordecai Richler’s novel, “Bareny’s Version” takes on the unenviable task of building some sort of sympathy for an otherwise completely unlikable character. Although not entirely successful in its efforts, the film has enough going for it to keep it afloat.

With the onset of Alzheimer’s, Barney Ponofski (Paul Giamatti), a Canadian TV producer, reflects on his life, which consists of three failed marriages, Barney’s suspected killing of his junkie friend “Boogie” (Scott Speedman), and loads and loads of booze.

Barney's first marriage is a spur-of-the-moment ceremony in Rome to a psychologically damaged hippy named Clara (Rachelle Lefevre), the second is an arranged marriage to the obnoxious Second Mrs. P (Minnie Driver), and the third is nothing short of paradise to his ideal partner Mirium (Rosamund Pike, brilliant).

But, as you get to know Barney through the first two marriages (he sabotages his second marriage to get to his third), you’ll quickly realize that this paradise just wasn’t meant to be for Barney. It can be frustrating to watch Barney tear down what he has just set up, but that frustration is generated through the honesty within the anatomy of each relationship -- if you can even call the first two “relationships.”

His friendships, judging by the aforementioned suspected murder, aren’t much better. Barney’s best friend Boogie is an untrustworthy junkie, whose body disappears after a heated argument with Barney, making him the only suspect. Director Richard J. Lewis weaves this plot point throughout “Barney’s Version,” maintaining the mystery the whole way through.

There are hints of darkness sprinkled in throughout the first two acts, but the film manages to generate some laughs, albeit somewhat off-color. Somewhere in the third act, however, the movie takes a weighty dramatic turn, and that’s where the film seeks some form of redemption for Barney. It’s a challenge, to say the least, for both the filmmakers involved and the audience.

It’s the cast that really keeps the movie’s head above water, though. Giamatti loses himself in Barney, the type of role the actor was born to play. He mixes the light and the dark, being neurotically charming at moments and emotionally exploding at others. Dustin Hoffman has a blast playing Barney’s cop father, and Rosamund Pike steals the show.

The performances alone make the film worth seeing.

Grade: B

“A River Runs Through It” DVD, Blu-Ray Movie Review

Directed by Robert Redford, Written by Norman Maclean (story) and Richard Friedenberg, 123 minutes, Rated PG.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

Just out on Blu-ray disc, Robert Redford’s “A River Runs Through It” is a Norman Rockwell painting come to life.

Reflecting the nostalgia and wholesomeness of Rockwell’s work, the film details American life in the first half of 20th century, and it does so poetically and quietly. Redford’s subtle directing, Philippe Rousselot's stunning camera work and the cast’s disciplined performances make for a peaceful visit to a simpler time. Connecting the bonds of family, nature and time with the serenity of fly fishing, the film teaches a lesson in every scene with precision and purpose.

“A River Runs Through It” follows the Maclean family as their two sons, Norman and Paul, come of age. However, despite their close upbringing and relationship, the boys walk divergent paths.

The first born son and our narrator, Norman (Craig Sheffer), takes the straight and narrow. While “River” briefly shows us his childhood, the film doesn’t really get underway until Norman returns from Dartmouth College and looks for his next endeavor. Uncertain of his calling, he spends the film in quiet contemplation, deciding his next move and meeting his first love Jessie (Emily Lloyd).

On the other hand, Norman’s brother, Paul (Brad Pitt), takes a more dangerous route. More thickheaded than Norman, Paul’s stubbornness and smooth-talking persona wins him a job as a reporter for a local newspaper and thus a reckless lifestyle. At the paper, he carves out a bit of fame for himself -- though, in the eyes of the local bookies, he’s already a star. Paul’s problems are many, but as Norman points out, with a fishing lure, he’s an artist.

Fishing ties these boys together. Their Reverend father's (Tom Skerritt) fishing lessons teaches them the discipline to carry on in the face adversity. It keeps them grounded and gives the film rhythm. Shots of the characters tracking and luring the fish slow things efficiently, allowing the audience a chance to breathe. Redford wants his film internalized, and these scenes create moments of serenity and reflection.

Redford succeeds at matching his thoughtful story to his contemplative image. Philippe Rousselot's Oscar-winning photography creates an aura of nostalgia that surrounds the serene Montana plains. Likewise, Norman’s poetic narration add to the dream-like tone of the film, while the cast’s complex performances turn that dream into a reality.

“A River Runs Through It” is a slow film. But during its quiet lurch, the film gives the viewer a chance to reflect and relate. Redford puts their life to film and does so with a gracefulness most directors only dream of.

Grade: B+

“A River Runs Through It” DVD, Blu-Ray Movie Review

Directed by Robert Redford, Written by Norman Maclean (story) and Richard Friedenberg, 123 minutes, Rated PG.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

Just out on Blu-ray disc, Robert Redford’s “A River Runs Through It” is a Norman Rockwell painting come to life.

Reflecting the nostalgia and wholesomeness of Rockwell’s work, the film details American life in the first half of 20th century, and it does so poetically and quietly. Redford’s subtle directing, Philippe Rousselot's stunning camera work and the cast’s disciplined performances make for a peaceful visit to a simpler time. Connecting the bonds of family, nature and time with the serenity of fly fishing, the film teaches a lesson in every scene with precision and purpose.

“A River Runs Through It” follows the Maclean family as their two sons, Norman and Paul, come of age. However, despite their close upbringing and relationship, the boys walk divergent paths.

The first born son and our narrator, Norman (Craig Sheffer), takes the straight and narrow. While “River” briefly shows us his childhood, the film doesn’t really get underway until Norman returns from Dartmouth College and looks for his next endeavor. Uncertain of his calling, he spends the film in quiet contemplation, deciding his next move and meeting his first love Jessie (Emily Lloyd).

On the other hand, Norman’s brother, Paul (Brad Pitt), takes a more dangerous route. More thickheaded than Norman, Paul’s stubbornness and smooth-talking persona wins him a job as a reporter for a local newspaper and thus a reckless lifestyle. At the paper, he carves out a bit of fame for himself -- though, in the eyes of the local bookies, he’s already a star. Paul’s problems are many, but as Norman points out, with a fishing lure, he’s an artist.

Fishing ties these boys together. Their Reverend father's (Tom Skerritt) fishing lessons teaches them the discipline to carry on in the face adversity. It keeps them grounded and gives the film rhythm. Shots of the characters tracking and luring the fish slow things efficiently, allowing the audience a chance to breathe. Redford wants his film internalized, and these scenes create moments of serenity and reflection.

Redford succeeds at matching his thoughtful story to his contemplative image. Philippe Rousselot's Oscar-winning photography creates an aura of nostalgia that surrounds the serene Montana plains. Likewise, Norman’s poetic narration add to the dream-like tone of the film, while the cast’s complex performances turn that dream into a reality.

“A River Runs Through It” is a slow film. But during its quiet lurch, the film gives the viewer a chance to reflect and relate. Redford puts their life to film and does so with a gracefulness most directors only dream of.

Grade: B+

“It’s Kind of a Funny Story”

DVD, Blu-Ray Movie Review

Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Written by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Nev Vizzini (novel), 101 minutes, Rated PG-13.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

All movies have characters. Other movies have character. The dramedy “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” has the former. Filled to the brim with rounded, interesting people, “Funny Story” develops its impressive screenplay in a bland, roundabout way, which displays the mental instability of its cast, but never expresses it. Trapped in a quirky, sardonic shell, the film explains the characters’ problems, yet lacks any emotional catharsis or personality.

Unable to handle the pressures of teenage life and fearing that he might kill himself, Craig (Kei Gilchrist) checks into the hospital. For Craig, school is too much, girls are too much, and parents are too much--so he pleads with his doctor to do something fast. With no other options, Craig is committed into the adult psychiatric ward of the hospital for one week of observation and treatment.

There, he meets Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), a depressed, middle-aged man who’s undergoing a similar experience to Craig -- he feels alone, scared and is suicidal. Bobby helps Craig along in his treatment, holding a figurative mirror to his problems. Craig’s interactions with people like Bobby teach him about depression and what it takes to overcome it.

“It’s Kind of a Funny Story” has moments of compassion and sensitivity. Zach Galifianakis puts away his typical, aloof persona for a role that is nurturing and complicated. He reveals himself to Craig in unexpected ways, keeping things decidedly subtle. Working from Boden and Fleck's screenplay, the actor avoids cheap jokes at the patients’ expense.

Bobby’s caring nature compliments Craig's growth. Craig undergoes significant changes throughout the film, and this evolution comes slowly but logically. Boden and Fleck fully realize the character, adding layers of complexity, but deny him emotional climax.

While the cast keeps things comfortable, the directing team embellishes frequently and never to the film’s benefit. Their forays into animation, hallucination and dream don’t fully express the emotional states of the characters and do a disservice to the more than capable cast. The film's experimental side interrupts any opportunity actors have of expressing complicated emotions.

“It’s Kind of a Funny Story” focuses almost entirely on Craig and spends most of that time telling us what he’s feeling. However, those emotions are rarely expressed in a visceral way. Instead, the film goes for a more artful approach that never hits home in the way that the directors hope.

Grade: B-

“It’s Kind of a Funny Story”

DVD, Blu-Ray Movie Review

Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Written by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Nev Vizzini (novel), 101 minutes, Rated PG-13.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

All movies have characters. Other movies have character. The dramedy “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” has the former. Filled to the brim with rounded, interesting people, “Funny Story” develops its impressive screenplay in a bland, roundabout way, which displays the mental instability of its cast, but never expresses it. Trapped in a quirky, sardonic shell, the film explains the characters’ problems, yet lacks any emotional catharsis or personality.

Unable to handle the pressures of teenage life and fearing that he might kill himself, Craig (Kei Gilchrist) checks into the hospital. For Craig, school is too much, girls are too much, and parents are too much--so he pleads with his doctor to do something fast. With no other options, Craig is committed into the adult psychiatric ward of the hospital for one week of observation and treatment.

There, he meets Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), a depressed, middle-aged man who’s undergoing a similar experience to Craig -- he feels alone, scared and is suicidal. Bobby helps Craig along in his treatment, holding a figurative mirror to his problems. Craig’s interactions with people like Bobby teach him about depression and what it takes to overcome it.

“It’s Kind of a Funny Story” has moments of compassion and sensitivity. Zach Galifianakis puts away his typical, aloof persona for a role that is nurturing and complicated. He reveals himself to Craig in unexpected ways, keeping things decidedly subtle. Working from Boden and Fleck's screenplay, the actor avoids cheap jokes at the patients’ expense.

Bobby’s caring nature compliments Craig's growth. Craig undergoes significant changes throughout the film, and this evolution comes slowly but logically. Boden and Fleck fully realize the character, adding layers of complexity, but deny him emotional climax.

While the cast keeps things comfortable, the directing team embellishes frequently and never to the film’s benefit. Their forays into animation, hallucination and dream don’t fully express the emotional states of the characters and do a disservice to the more than capable cast. The film's experimental side interrupts any opportunity actors have of expressing complicated emotions.

“It’s Kind of a Funny Story” focuses almost entirely on Craig and spends most of that time telling us what he’s feeling. However, those emotions are rarely expressed in a visceral way. Instead, the film goes for a more artful approach that never hits home in the way that the directors hope.

Grade: B-

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"Network"

DVD, Blu-Ray Movie Review

Directed by Sidney Lumet, Written by Paddy Chayefsky, 121 minutes, Rated R.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

Ever wonder what an episode of Mary Tyler Moore might look like had it been written by Kurt Vonnegut? Well, look no further than "Network." Just out on Blu-ray disc, director Sidney Lumet's satire about a failing television station leaves no stone unturned, tearing into the stars, the executives, and the audience with a sharp comic edge and a dark sense of humor.

"Network" is about a failing television station called UBS. More specifically, it chronicles the consequences of having lousy ratings. No one learns this lesson more so than longtime news anchor Howard Beale (Peter Finch), who after 15 years behind the desk is cast out from the network in lieu of more contemporary programming. Mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, Howard hijacks the camera during his final broadcast and vents about the grotesque state of humanity and actually makes a connection with the audience.

The rest of the network is flabbergasted, save for the new station programmer Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway). Diana spent the better part of her time at UBS searching out angry television. With the country in the heart of a recession and the dream of the '60s dead, she’s sees a demand for volatile shows that channel this rage--and Howard Beale becomes her poster child.

Things escalate quickly as Howard becomes the host of his own televangelist talk show. Howard's close friend and longtime partner, Max (William Holden), watches in horror as the show leads to the downfall of the news department, a cult-like viewership, television show's developed by political radicals and terrorist organizations, and the decline of the American family unit.

"Network" is a product of the sum of its parts. The snappy script rattles-off jokes and call-backs with ease. The cast plays along, making sure the audience never misses a moment of just how stupid everything at the network actually is. Finally, Lumet's directing keeps things feeling lighthearted -- even when the subject matter is darkly insulting. Lumet reduces those in the business to sniveling money grubbers and raving lunatics, and the audience -- brainless sheep, willing to eat up anything the executives feed them.

For all of its strange idiosyncrasies, "Network" remains sharply satirical with a keen eye for detail. It's easy to get wrapped up in these people's lives, even if, as Max so appropriately points out, they act as if they're reading from a script. "Network" has little respect for the phony television generation, and through its scathing perception of it, it's easy to understand why.

Grade: A

"Network"

DVD, Blu-Ray Movie Review

Directed by Sidney Lumet, Written by Paddy Chayefsky, 121 minutes, Rated R.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

Ever wonder what an episode of Mary Tyler Moore might look like had it been written by Kurt Vonnegut? Well, look no further than "Network." Just out on Blu-ray disc, director Sidney Lumet's satire about a failing television station leaves no stone unturned, tearing into the stars, the executives, and the audience with a sharp comic edge and a dark sense of humor.

"Network" is about a failing television station called UBS. More specifically, it chronicles the consequences of having lousy ratings. No one learns this lesson more so than longtime news anchor Howard Beale (Peter Finch), who after 15 years behind the desk is cast out from the network in lieu of more contemporary programming. Mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, Howard hijacks the camera during his final broadcast and vents about the grotesque state of humanity and actually makes a connection with the audience.

The rest of the network is flabbergasted, save for the new station programmer Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway). Diana spent the better part of her time at UBS searching out angry television. With the country in the heart of a recession and the dream of the '60s dead, she’s sees a demand for volatile shows that channel this rage--and Howard Beale becomes her poster child.

Things escalate quickly as Howard becomes the host of his own televangelist talk show. Howard's close friend and longtime partner, Max (William Holden), watches in horror as the show leads to the downfall of the news department, a cult-like viewership, television show's developed by political radicals and terrorist organizations, and the decline of the American family unit.

"Network" is a product of the sum of its parts. The snappy script rattles-off jokes and call-backs with ease. The cast plays along, making sure the audience never misses a moment of just how stupid everything at the network actually is. Finally, Lumet's directing keeps things feeling lighthearted -- even when the subject matter is darkly insulting. Lumet reduces those in the business to sniveling money grubbers and raving lunatics, and the audience -- brainless sheep, willing to eat up anything the executives feed them.

For all of its strange idiosyncrasies, "Network" remains sharply satirical with a keen eye for detail. It's easy to get wrapped up in these people's lives, even if, as Max so appropriately points out, they act as if they're reading from a script. "Network" has little respect for the phony television generation, and through its scathing perception of it, it's easy to understand why.

Grade: A

“You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger”

DVD, Blu-Ray Movie Review

Directed by Woody Allen, Written by Woody Allen, 102 minutes, Rated R.

By Christopher Smith

Now that's he's a confirmed cinematic expatriate (all but one of his last six films have taken place in Europe, and his next film, "Midnight in Paris," takes place in that city,) Woody Allen follows his last film, the New York stinker "Whatever Works," with a better movie set in London.

Since 2005, two great films have come from Allen while shooting abroad--the terrific "Match Point" and the Academy Award-winning "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" is a slighter work, but it's a modestly good time, if only because so many of its characters are such a hot mess.

Let's just lay it on the line--they are in such a state of disrepair, if you've ever considered therapy, which is the one thread that runs throughout so many of Allen's movies, watching this movie might quell the desire. Almost everyone here is a wreck.

It all begins with boozy Helena (Gemma Jones), who is dumped by her longtime husband, Alfie (Anthony Hopkins, reminding us after a long period of commercial films that he can act), who is having something of a mid-life crisis. He works out incessantly, he jogs, he bikes, but since poor Helena can't keep up with him, he leaves her. What's the poor thing to do, especially since now that Alfie has shacked up with Charmaine (Lucy Punch), the prostitute he's fallen madly in love with?

The answer rests with Helena's daughter, Sally (Naomi Watts), who hooks her up with a faux psychic hauled in to lift Helena up with a handful of lies and deep reservoirs of Scotch. Her job is to convince Helena that her life isn't over. And it works, so much so that Helena starts to see promise in the world, even though her contentious relationship with Sally's husband, Roy (Josh Brolin), hardly makes for a happy family.

About Roy. This is the first film in which Brolin actually looks like the real-life Brolin. Recently, I found myself standing next to him at a Vegas restroom at the Wynn Hotel. His body is oddly thick and truncated, almost dwarfish, which doesn't come through in his other movies, but which Allen emphasizes here in ways that make Roy, who has an unattractive demeanor, also physically unattractive.

Although he went through medical school, Roy eschewed that to write a first novel, which became popular. Almost too popular, because for years he has struggled to finish his second novel. And when he finally does finish it? Let's just say that this artist needs a new focus while publishers read his work.

Distractions are, in fact, everywhere in "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger." The trouble is, they usually involve the other sex. Roy flirts with Dia (Freida Pinto), a pretty young woman who lives across the way. Meanwhile, Sally slides away from Roy and starts her own flirtation with Greg (Antonio Banderas). And trouble brews.

What's curious about "Stranger" is how it overlooks its greatest star--London itself. There's no real sense of place in this movie--parts of it feel as if it could have been filmed in any big city, which is a waste considering the city at hand. And while the performances are good, the movie fails to live up to the promise of its initial scenes involving loopy Helena. Given her initial quirky presence in the film, which sends it nicely off balance, Allen appears to be setting audiences up for a mad comedy.

But that's not what this is. Instead, we get a movie filled with promise, a few good laughs, your typical Allen neuroses--but no lasting bite.

Grade: C+

“You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger”

DVD, Blu-Ray Movie Review

Directed by Woody Allen, Written by Woody Allen, 102 minutes, Rated R.

By Christopher Smith

Now that's he's a confirmed cinematic expatriate (all but one of his last six films have taken place in Europe, and his next film, "Midnight in Paris," takes place in that city,) Woody Allen follows his last film, the New York stinker "Whatever Works," with a better movie set in London.

Since 2005, two great films have come from Allen while shooting abroad--the terrific "Match Point" and the Academy Award-winning "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" is a slighter work, but it's a modestly good time, if only because so many of its characters are such a hot mess.

Let's just lay it on the line--they are in such a state of disrepair, if you've ever considered therapy, which is the one thread that runs throughout so many of Allen's movies, watching this movie might quell the desire. Almost everyone here is a wreck.

It all begins with boozy Helena (Gemma Jones), who is dumped by her longtime husband, Alfie (Anthony Hopkins, reminding us after a long period of commercial films that he can act), who is having something of a mid-life crisis. He works out incessantly, he jogs, he bikes, but since poor Helena can't keep up with him, he leaves her. What's the poor thing to do, especially since now that Alfie has shacked up with Charmaine (Lucy Punch), the prostitute he's fallen madly in love with?

The answer rests with Helena's daughter, Sally (Naomi Watts), who hooks her up with a faux psychic hauled in to lift Helena up with a handful of lies and deep reservoirs of Scotch. Her job is to convince Helena that her life isn't over. And it works, so much so that Helena starts to see promise in the world, even though her contentious relationship with Sally's husband, Roy (Josh Brolin), hardly makes for a happy family.

About Roy. This is the first film in which Brolin actually looks like the real-life Brolin. Recently, I found myself standing next to him at a Vegas restroom at the Wynn Hotel. His body is oddly thick and truncated, almost dwarfish, which doesn't come through in his other movies, but which Allen emphasizes here in ways that make Roy, who has an unattractive demeanor, also physically unattractive.

Although he went through medical school, Roy eschewed that to write a first novel, which became popular. Almost too popular, because for years he has struggled to finish his second novel. And when he finally does finish it? Let's just say that this artist needs a new focus while publishers read his work.

Distractions are, in fact, everywhere in "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger." The trouble is, they usually involve the other sex. Roy flirts with Dia (Freida Pinto), a pretty young woman who lives across the way. Meanwhile, Sally slides away from Roy and starts her own flirtation with Greg (Antonio Banderas). And trouble brews.

What's curious about "Stranger" is how it overlooks its greatest star--London itself. There's no real sense of place in this movie--parts of it feel as if it could have been filmed in any big city, which is a waste considering the city at hand. And while the performances are good, the movie fails to live up to the promise of its initial scenes involving loopy Helena. Given her initial quirky presence in the film, which sends it nicely off balance, Allen appears to be setting audiences up for a mad comedy.

But that's not what this is. Instead, we get a movie filled with promise, a few good laughs, your typical Allen neuroses--but no lasting bite.

Grade: C+

“Unknown”

Movie Review

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, Written by Oliver Butcher, Stephen Cornwell, and Didier Van Cauwelaert (book), 113 minutes, Rated PG-13.

By our guest blogger, Matt Schimkowitz

The accidental spy genre, born from films such as “The Third Man” and “The 39 Steps,” rests on the idea that secret agent in question doesn’t know what they are doing. Suddenly thrust into a convoluted situation, usually while on vacation, the protagonist searches for answers in a confusing and hostile new world, using their limited resources in a bizarre setting, creating tension, humor and excitement.

The latest Liam Neeson thriller, “Unknown,” deviates from these conventions a bit but removes some of the excitement. Director Jaume Collet-Serra ignores the genre’s strengths and orchestrates a production that bores more often than it thrills. Neeson and his co-stars realize this early and phone it in until the third act.

On trip to the Bio-Technology Summit in snowy Berlin, Dr. Martin Harris (Neeson) finds himself in a bit of a pickle. After a car accident, Harris falls into a coma and awakens to find his identity usurped by another Martin Harris (Aidan Quinn) and his wife of five years (January Jones) playing along. With his identity in crisis and his German lackluster, Harris searches out the cabbie that crashed his car for answers.

Things continue to escalate as Harris and his Russian cab-driver, Gina (Diane Kruger), employ a private detective (Bruno Ganz) and Rodney Cole (Frank Langella), Martin’s old friend and colleague for help; however, the more they uncover the more confusing the mystery becomes.

Collet-Serra keeps things decidedly quiet throughout much of the film’s runtime. Neeson barks and complains but keeps his cool in the face of danger. His director takes a more classical approach, resting on quick chases and Dutch angles to do his dirty work. The action appears in spurts but fails to disorient the viewer in a significant way.

“Unknown”’s dignified approach does a disservice for the ready-for-action Neeson. The constrained animal of “Taken” carried his gritty voice convincingly, but here, he appears bored and frustrated. January Jones and Frank Langella don’t fare much better – their stilted performances offer little to the convoluted plotting.

The spy genre benefits from the levity that a couple of laughs and explosions deliver. Hitchcock understood the former, while contemporary directors like Paul Greengrass get the latter. “Unknown” traps itself by taking things too seriously, and with a plot this ridiculous, there’s no reason to say “I remember how to kill you” with a straight face.

Grade: B-

“Unknown”

Movie Review

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, Written by Oliver Butcher, Stephen Cornwell, and Didier Van Cauwelaert (book), 113 minutes, Rated PG-13.

By our guest blogger, Matt Schimkowitz

The accidental spy genre, born from films such as “The Third Man” and “The 39 Steps,” rests on the idea that secret agent in question doesn’t know what they are doing. Suddenly thrust into a convoluted situation, usually while on vacation, the protagonist searches for answers in a confusing and hostile new world, using their limited resources in a bizarre setting, creating tension, humor and excitement.

The latest Liam Neeson thriller, “Unknown,” deviates from these conventions a bit but removes some of the excitement. Director Jaume Collet-Serra ignores the genre’s strengths and orchestrates a production that bores more often than it thrills. Neeson and his co-stars realize this early and phone it in until the third act.

On trip to the Bio-Technology Summit in snowy Berlin, Dr. Martin Harris (Neeson) finds himself in a bit of a pickle. After a car accident, Harris falls into a coma and awakens to find his identity usurped by another Martin Harris (Aidan Quinn) and his wife of five years (January Jones) playing along. With his identity in crisis and his German lackluster, Harris searches out the cabbie that crashed his car for answers.

Things continue to escalate as Harris and his Russian cab-driver, Gina (Diane Kruger), employ a private detective (Bruno Ganz) and Rodney Cole (Frank Langella), Martin’s old friend and colleague for help; however, the more they uncover the more confusing the mystery becomes.

Collet-Serra keeps things decidedly quiet throughout much of the film’s runtime. Neeson barks and complains but keeps his cool in the face of danger. His director takes a more classical approach, resting on quick chases and Dutch angles to do his dirty work. The action appears in spurts but fails to disorient the viewer in a significant way.

“Unknown”’s dignified approach does a disservice for the ready-for-action Neeson. The constrained animal of “Taken” carried his gritty voice convincingly, but here, he appears bored and frustrated. January Jones and Frank Langella don’t fare much better – their stilted performances offer little to the convoluted plotting.

The spy genre benefits from the levity that a couple of laughs and explosions deliver. Hitchcock understood the former, while contemporary directors like Paul Greengrass get the latter. “Unknown” traps itself by taking things too seriously, and with a plot this ridiculous, there’s no reason to say “I remember how to kill you” with a straight face.

Grade: B-