Feeds:
Posts
Comments

“THE TREE”: Healing Down Under

September 16, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

Charlotte Gainsbourg in "The Tree"

“THE TREE”  My rating: B  (Opens Sept. 16 at the Tivoli)

minutes | MPAA rating: 

The Australian drama “The Tree,” writer/director Julie Bertucelli’s tale of a rural family slowly healing in the wake of a death features some knockout acting (especially from several child performers),  lovely cinematography and production design and a lingering mood of loss and spiritual yearning that’s hard to shake.

The O’Neill family is sent reeling when its husband/father Peter dies of a heart attack, leaving behind his wife Dawn (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and four children ranging in age from four to 16.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Art house fare | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

“HAPPY”: Happy is as Happy does

September 16, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

“HAPPY” My rating: B- (Opens Sept. 16 at the Tivoli)

75 minutes | No MPAA rating  

Early in the documentary “Happy” we get a quote from Benjamin Franklin to the effect that while the Declaration of Independence guarantees our right to pursue happiness, actually catching happiness is up to us.

Roko Belic’s film examines human happiness, where it comes from, how people have gained and preserved it, the circumstances under which it seems to flourish.

Belic interviews scientists and psychologists and religious leaders who have specialized in the study of happiness, and their comments about the emotion’s source (nature vs. nurture, dopamine levels, etc.) are enlightening.

Far more effective though, are the man-in-the-street examples Belic has found all over the world, from a sixty-something South American surfer to Okinawan villagers who lead blissful lives well into their 100s. Continue Reading »

Posted in Art house fare, Documentaries | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

“CONTAGION”: Not with a bang but a whimper

September 9, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

Gwyneth Paltrow...not feeling so good

“CONTAGION’’ My rating: B (Opening wide on Sept. 9)

105 minutes |MPAA rating: PG-13

There’s no shortage of big names in the cast, but the real star of “Contagion” is filmmaker Stephen Soderbergh.

His latest is a hypnotic juggling act, a carefully calibrated mashup of characters and situations that proves him a master storyteller.

This time the maker of “Traffic,” “Erin Brockovich,” “Che” and “Out of Sight” (and, yes, the “Ocean’s” flicks) delivers a “what if?” thriller about a killer flu pandemic that puts mankind on the ropes.

“Contagion” paints a grim but fully-detailed picture of how we’d react in such circumstances, and it’s not pretty.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Popcorn movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

“DRIVE”: Love and hate in LA

September 9, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

Ryan Gosling as The Driver

“DRIVE”  My rating: B- (Opens wide on Sept. 16)

100 minutes | MPAA rating: R

There are parts of “Drive” that I absolutely loved.

There were others that made me shake my head in disbelief.

Talk about leaving a film with mixed feelings!

“Drive” cements my suspicion that Ryan Gosling is an absolutely great actor.

And it introduces to mainstream American audiences Nicolas Winding Refn, a Danish filmmaker of tremendous talent.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Popcorn movies | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

“WARRIOR”: When brothers brawl

September 9, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

“WARRIOR” My rating: B (Opening wide on Sept. 11)

139 minutes | MPAA rating: PG-13

In outline there’s nothing terribly original about “Warrior,” which follows the well-tested dictates of your typical “fight” movie.

You’ve got your training montage. You’ve got your chatty TV sportscasters giving us the blow-by-blow even as we’re watching the bout unfold before our eyes. You’ve got your dramas outside the ring spilling over into the brawl inside the ring.

Happily this melodrama from writer/director Gavin O’Connor tosses in a few welcome changeups. And it’s been so well acted that even the familiar somehow seems fresh.

At heart “Warrior” is the story of a fractured family somehow coming together in the fury of a mixed martial arts tournament.

Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy) returns to his blue-collar home town after an absence of nearly 15 years. He’s an angry young man Continue Reading »

Posted in Popcorn movies | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

“HOW TO LIVE FOREVER”: Maybe

September 9, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

“HOW TO LIVE FOREVER” My rating: C+ (Opening Sept. 9 at the Tivoli)

92 minutes | No MPAA rating

No movie can teach us how to live forever, not even one entitled “How to Live Forever.”

At best Mark Wexler’s documentary offers an generally diverting look at people who have lived to a ripe old age while sprinkling the whole thing with comments from experts in the field of aging.

The results are hardly comprehensive, but with its grab-bag approach and ever-changing focus the film is mildly amusing.

It begins with Wexler visiting the world’s oldest person (she’s 115), followed by a trip to a national convention of funeral directors in Las Vegas (Elvis and Marilyn impersonators, Klingons).

Continue Reading »

Posted in Documentaries | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

“KURONEKO”: Ghosts of the forest

September 9, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

A ghostly image from "Kuroneko"

“KURONEKO (BLACK CAT IN THE GROVE)”   (Opening Sept. 9 at the Tivoli)

minutes | No MPAA rating

Fans of classic Japanese cinema will have an atmospheric old time with “Kuroneko,” Kaneto Shindo’s 1968 feature based on a centuries-old old folk tale.

Set in a feudal period, this supernatural love story begins with the brutal rape and murder of a peasant woman (Nobuko Otawa)  and her daughter-in-law (Kiwako Taichi) by a roving band of samurai/bandits. Their hut is set ablaze; later a black cat laps the blood from the bodies. Continue Reading »

Posted in Art house fare | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

‘THE GUARD”: Irish redneck savant

September 2, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

Brendan Gleeson

“THE GUARD” My rating: B+ (Opens wide on Sept. 2)

96 minutes | Audience rating: R 

Brendan Gleeson has always been a great actor, but he’s spent most of his life in supporting roles.

“The Guard” won’t change that, but it should.

This absolutely wonderful film from first-time feature director John Michael McDonagh (who also penned the script) finds Gleeson dominating every second he’s on screen in a role tailor-made for his imposing physical presence and bullish personality.

The movie is a crime saga, a buddy flick, a black comedy…but most of all it’s a terrific character study of a guy we’re not sure we like, but who grabs our attention and won’t let go.

Gleeson here plays Sgt. Gerry Boyle, a member of the Guardia (Ireland’s national police force) stationed on the west coast near Galway.

Boyle is fat, cynical and sarcastic…at first glance he might be the Hibernian equivalent of a redneck Southern sheriff. Continue Reading »

Posted in Art house fare, Popcorn movies | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

“ATTACK THE BLOCK”: These kids are more than alright

September 2, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

John Boyega and Jodie Whittaker defend their block

“ATTACK THE BLOCK” My rating: B (Opening Sept 2 at the Studio 30)

88 minutes | MPAA rating: R

“Attack the Block” hits the ground with all four limbs moving like the Coyote in a “Road Runner” cartoon, and it doesn’t let up until nearly 90 minutes later.

Along the way Joe Cornish’s low-budget alien invasion flick manages to be funny, scary, exciting and even socially relevant, though not so much so as to slow things down.

Set in a London public housing high rise (they’re called “estates,” which is a pretty classy word for a pretty grungy environment), the film follows a gang of disaffected teens who turn from mugging strangers to confronting an invasion of voracious alien creatures who have dropped from the sky.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Popcorn movies, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

“THE FUTURE”: It isn’t what it used to be

September 2, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

“THE FUTURE” My rating: B (Opening Sept. 2 at the Tivoli)

91 minutes | MPAA rating: R

“The Future” is the second film of the summer to leave me stranded between admiration and nagging irritation.

The first was “Tree of Life” from the semi-reclusive Terrence Malick.

“The Future” springs from the non-reclusive-but-definitely-out-there mind of performance artist/writer/filmmaker/video artist Miranda July.

Like her debut film, “You and Me and Everyone We Know,” this is an extremely quirky affair that will charm some viewers and alienate others.

It’s about a midlife crisis, but not the typical Hollywood-movie midlife crisis where a guy in his 40s goes looking for thrills before returning to his wife with his tail between his legs.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Art house fare | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »