|
17 Again / *** (PG-13)
|
"17 Again" (PG-13, 98 minutes). An unhappy man in his late 30s is transported back to his body at 17, and gets a chance to fix things with his alienated family. Zac Efron is a charmer as the teenager, and there is a completely unanticipated fanboy-fangirl romance that is comic genius. Pleasant, harmless. Three stars.
|
|
State of Play / *** (PG-13)
|
"State of Play" (PG-13, 127 minutes). Russell Crowe is a seasoned newspaper reporter and Rachel McAdams is the paper's plucky young blogger; together, they uncover an unholy political and corporate alliance. Smart, well made, good work by Crowe, McAdams, Robin Wright Penn and Helen Mirren as the editor. Mysteries are resolve a little too quickly at the end. Directed by Kevin Macdonald ("The Last King of Scotland"). Three stars
|
|
Sugar / ***1/2 (R)
|
"Sugar" (R, 118 minutes). Intensely human story of a young baseball player from the Dominican Republic who is recruited to an Iowa farm team and find himself alone and very, very far from home. Not a sports movie but a tender character-driven drama, as his poor family nourishes his dreams. Even a farm league salary is wealth to them all. Written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck ("Half Nelson"), starring Algenis Perez Soto in a persuasive, natural performance. Three and a half stars.
|
|
Hunger / ***1/2 (No MPAA rating)
|
"Hunger" (Unrated, 92 minutes). A stark depiction of the imprisonment and starvation of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands in 1981. Deals not with politics but with relentless reality, including an absorbing conversation between Sands and a priest about the utility of his protest. An harrowing lead performance by Michael Fassbender. Directed by the British artist Steve McQueen. Rating: Three and a half stars
|
|
American Violet / *** (PG-13)
|
"American Violet" (PG-13, 103 minutes). In a small Texas town, a young mother of four is arrested on drug charges in a police sweep even though no drugs were found and her record is clean. Offered a plea bargain, she refuses because she doesn't want a felony on her record, and two lawyers enlist to defend her. Based on a true story; direct and righteous. A winning debut performance by Nicole Beharie, with strong support by Alfre Woodard, Tim Blake Nelson, Michael O'Keefe and Will Patton. Rating: Three stars.
|
|
The Audition / *** (No MPAA rating)
|
"The Audition" (Unrated, 107 minutes). At the end of a long series of semi-final auditions, a new generation of American opera singers is chosen at the Metropolitan Opera's annual National Council Auditions. We go backstage, learn something about each one, and most of all listen to them sing. Showing at 2 p.m. Sunday on Hi-Def closed-circuit video at showcase theaters. Three stars.
|
|
Tokyo Sonata / ***1/2 (PG-13)
|
by Roger Ebert
Just as the economic crisis has jolted everyday life, so it shakes up "Tokyo Sonata," which begins as a well-behaved story and takes detours into the comic, the macabre and the sublime. All you know about three-act structure is going to be useless in watching this film, even though, like many sonatas, it has three movements.
|
|
Gigantic / **1/2 (R)
|
by Roger Ebert
On the basis of "Gigantic," Matt Aselton can make a fine and original film. This isn't quite it, but it has moments so good, all you wish for is a second draft. Nor is it ever boring. You can't say that about a lot of debuts. I suspect he was trying too hard to be terrific and not hard enough to get organized.
|
|
Paris 36 / **1/2 (PG-13)
|
by Roger Ebert
Sometimes you get the feeling that if a movie had been made years ago, it would now be considered a classic. "Paris 36" is like that -- an old-fashioned story set around a music hall. Cutting-edge, it's not. But if taken in the right spirit, enjoyable.
|
|
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh / ** (R)
|
by Roger Ebert
After that summer, nothing would ever be the same again. Where have we seen that movie before? Most recently last week, in "Adventureland," another movie set in 1980s. If you think about it, after every summer, nothing will ever be the same again. But "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" has an unusually busy summer, in which a hero who is a blank slate gets scrawled all over with experiences.
|
|
Great Movie: La Belle Noiseuse (1991)
|
by Roger Ebert
Frenhofer, the great artist, has painted nothing for ten years. He threw down his brush in the middle of painting what was intended as his masterpiece, to be titled "Le Belle Noiseuse," or "the beautiful nuisance." His model was his wife, Elizabeth, who inspired the great period of his career. "At first he painted me because I loved him," she tells a friend. "Then he painted me because he loved me." And then he stopped, perhaps because he feared that to achieve his painting would be to destroy their love. Frenhofer does not see the outsides of his models, but the insides -- bones, sinew, soul.
|
Movie Answer Man: I know I'm right about 'Knowing'
and its critics were unknowing
|
Q. I went to see "Knowing" only because of your review. I really enjoyed it. When I saw all the negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes (only 15 percent on the Tomatometer), I was surprised. I felt like they weren't reviewing the movie as much as the premise behind it. I don't agree with the premise, but I thought it was a really good movie. I even paid the way for many of the students in my ethics class to see it. They LOVED it. Critics are still free to write whatever they want; however, I feel that they should review the movie and not judge it on its theological/philosophical premise. Would you agree? Do you feel frustrated or intimidated when you are out there by yourself?
Cal Ford, Corsicana, Texas
A. Not when I'm right. I am heartened that a lot of moviegoers seem to agree with me. "Knowing" has passed $70 million at the box office and is holding up well. I wrote a blog entry about it that so far has attracted 812 comments, all of them literate and intelligent (a rarity on a blog) and a large majority of them are favorable. The premise is of course preposterous, but that's hardly a first for a sci-fi thriller. The Tomatometer, by the way, has doubled to 34.
|
Commentary: TCM's 15 most influential films
of all time, and 10 from me
|
by Roger Ebert
To celebrate its 25th anniversary Turner Classic Movies has selected the 15 most influential films of all time. It's a good list. As much as I think all such lists are debatable rankings of apples and oranges, that didn't prevent me from selecting my own ten best films of the century at the turn of the millenium.
|
