June 26th, 2009

 The problem with this film is that it's every kid-dying-of-cancer TV show and movie you've ever seen crammed into one hour and 50 minutes, all cliches, but very good performances, and VERY depressing - and for $12, I want some laughs.

Sara (Cameron Diaz) and Brian Fitzgerald (Jason Patric) have struggled for years with the reality that their young daughter Kate (Sofia Vassilieva) has leukemia, and that she only has a few years to live. The doctor suggested to the parents that they try an unorthodox medical procedure - an engineered fetus -  producing another child in a test-tube that would be a perfect match as a donor for Kate. The new baby was Anna (Abigail Breslin) to be used as a donor for Kate. The first thing they use is blood from the umbilical cord for Kate. As years go on, the doctors must take bone marrow from Anna to give to Kate. At age 11, the next thing Anna must give to her sister is a kidney. Anna has had enough of all of these medical procedures, and she decides to sue her parents for medical emancipation and the right to decide how her body will be used. The whole family is being torn apart by Anna's decision because everyone knows what will happen to Kate if she doesn't get a new kidney.

See at your own peril.
 
The Players: Abigail Breslin, Cameron Diaz, Jason Patric, and Sofia Vassilieva

The Filmmakers:
Directed by Nick Cassavetes
Screenplay by Jeremy Levin and Nick Cassavetes
Released by New Line Cinema

Transformers 2: Rise of the Fallen  Reviewed by CJ Henderson
Who would have thought that Michael Bey was a Republican? After seeing "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," I’m thinking he might be. After all, the U.S. president he depicts is a spineless coward who prefers the idea of negotiating with murderous robots rather than standing up to them; who’s also prepared to turn human beings over to them if it will make them happy. He’s also named "Obama." That’s only one of the odd things in this film, however, so instead of wasting time, perhaps we should get right down to talking about one of the most highly anticipated films of this summer.

 The story: It’s been two years since young Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) saved the world along with the help from the Autobots. Since then, the Autobots have teamed with the U.S. government to battle the remaining Decepticons and Sam has graduated high school. Now, as this film opens, Sam is heading for college, and he wants to make some changes in his life.  Sam and Mikaela (Megan Fox) are still a couple, and he wants to keep it that way. He’s determined to go to college, maintain a long range relationship with his girlfriend, and somehow put his recent, alien robot-fighting past behind him. His college does not allow freshman to have cars, which gives him an excuse to send Bumblebee, his Autobot protector, away. As far as Sam is concerned, he’s about to close the door on aliens and get on with the work of getting ready for the "real" world.  But, life has a few surprises in store for Sam.

 It seems the remaining Decepticons, along with the new ones that keep coming to Earth, are looking for something. The government has begun to believe they are only searching out the Autobots, and that if the human race could convince their robot allies to leave, that everything would be fine. But, the Autobots’ leader, Optimus Prime, as well as the Army personnel working with him directly, think they are mistaken.  They’re right.
You see, evil Decepticon leader Megatron might have been on Earth longer than any of the Autobots, but he’s not the first robotic visitor to the planet. Indeed, tourists from Cybertron have been coming here for tens of thousands of years and ...
 Well, to go any further would be to start spoiling the film for those who would like to see it for themselves. Suffice it to say, everything you have been told so far is just the set-up for one wild thrill ride of a movie. The action is more violent this time around, with many more Autobots and Decepticons than in the first film, many of them featuring vastly different and more varied shapes and sizes (some of which are obvious nods to the Hasbro Beast War toy line). It also contains far more battle sequences which are far more intense than those in the first film.

 There’s another change as well, one that might not sit too well with parents. For some reason, there are quite a number of bizarre jokes in the film--robots farting flames, robots farting parachutes, robots with phallic appendages as well as testicles, and other odd crudities. This kind of humor did not show up in the first movie, and unsuspecting guardians might be surprised by its appearance here.
 Another new element is the amount of human death that is clearly shown. It’s not the blood and spines and shattered skulls one might find in a Rob Zombie movie, but when ship are sunk, the audience sees dead sailors. When battles occur, men are smashed and crushed. Those parents counting on this film’s intensity matching that of the first are in for a surprise.

 And, that goes for those hoping for the same level of filmmaking quality. Michael Bey has never been one of my favorite directors, but I was impressed with his ability with the first Transformers film to mix intelligent and thoughtful scenes with his usual all-out action sequences. This time around, most of the non-action scenes are comedic in nature.  In the previous film, Bey used these in-between moments to focus on the human characters, to use their humanity to off-set the movie’s cartoon premise. Now, however, the entire movie has become a cartoon, and what made the first film such an outstanding piece of work has been lost. Like so many of Bey’s pictures, it is merely a series of gags interspersed with violent action.

 On the other hand, during my after film interviews, it must be said that the fans were thrilled. The younger the audience member, the happier they were with the movie. If they were wearing an Optimus Prime T-shirt, they were beside themselves with delight. Which, I suppose, means that if you’re a fan of the Transformers movie, cartoons, toys, et cetera, then you’ll probably like it no matter what the fuddy-duddies who write about film might think.
 But, if you can take or leave this one, my advice, leave it. It’s big, loud and violent, but not nearly as good as the first one.
 Our final word: 3 stars out of 5.

The Players:Shia LeBoeuf, JohnTurturro, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel and the voices of Peter Cuullen and Hugo Weaving.

The Filmmakers:
Directed by Michael Bay
Screenplay by Eheren Kruger and Robewrto Orci
Based on the Hasbro Toy Series
Released by Paramount Pictures


QUIET CHAOS        Reviewed by Andrew Johnson
Coping with sudden tragedy, being able to pick up the pieces left in one’s life, and being able to let out feeling and grieve for a loved one lost. This is the crux of the Italian film “QUIET CHAOS” (“CAOS CALMO”) directed by Antonello Grimaldi and starring acclaimed director Nanni Moretti in a brilliant acting turn. Amazingly shown are how lives intertwine and strangers become involved with strangers when the situation is put forth.
The film opens with two brothers playfully hitting a small ball to each other with paddles on a beach. Suddenly, they hear the cry of two women in the water calling for help. Everyone on the sand is just standing there looking. The two go into the water and rescue the two females in danger. No one else would make an attempt; one of the men even told them not to go into the water as it was too dangerous. After the rescue, there’s not even a thank you uttered for the heroic deed.

When Pietro Paladino, the older of the two, arrives at his house, he sees an ambulance and then spots his wife lying on the ground, having been killed in a fall. Pietro’s ten-year old daughter Claudia rushes into his arms sobbing. It’s then he decides to be a source of stability for the girl and take care of her in this time of crises. Forsaking his corporate position temporarily at a time when a merger is being formulated, he camps out each day at his daughter’s school showing her that he is there and truly cares. We see how Pietro will juggle things to make sense of his loss, care for his daughter, and be a part of the high stakes of wheeling and dealing in his job.
A fine cast includes Valeria Golina as Pietro’s sister-in-law with whom he had an affair years ago, and Alessandro Gassman as his carefree and sometimes into drugs younger brother. Watch too for a surprise appearance of a renowned director acting in a key scene in this film.

“QUIET CHAOS” creates mood and tension and tackles in a straightforward way the manner in which this individual who has lost his wife tries to pick up his life and go on living. I will say that the film has a tendency to drag at certain junctures (a bit more tightening up may have done the trick) but all told, a wonderful insight into life in complete turnabout. Nicely done.
The Players: Nanni Moretti, Valeria Golino, Isabella Ferrari, Alessandro Gassman, Blu Yoshimi, Hippolyte Girardot, Kasia Smutniak, Denis Podalydes, Charles Berling,  and Silvio Orlando

The Filmmakers:
Directed by Antonello Grimaldi
Screenplay by Nanni Moretti, Laura Paolucci, Francesco Piccolo
      based on the novel by Sandro Veronesi
Director of Photography: Alessandro Pesci
Music by Paulo Buonvino
An IFC film release


THE STONING OF SORAYA M               Reviewed by Andrew Johnson
        “Don’t act like the hypocrite who thinks he can conceal
                                              his wiles by loudly quoting the Koran”
                                                                                     . . . Iranian poet Hafez.
 Charlatans use religion to further their own agenda. And isn’t that so true with fundamentalists today?
 In our free western world mind set, it’s hard to reconcile things that are done in a completely different culture. We’re oft times told not to thrust our values on others. But when heinous injustices are manifest, in this case, brutally taking the life of an innocent human being in a most barbaric manner, our mind set says “NO!” We abhor such an act committed and rebel against the unthinkable deed. 

Based on a true story, “THE STONING OF SORAYA M.” tells of a young, abused-by-her-husband, wife in a small village in Iran. The husband wishes to get rid of this wife and uses religion and its corrupt religious leader to accomplish his goal. He has his eyes on a 14 year-old with money, whose father is a doctor and in prison. In this plot against his wife, Islam will be perverted.   Based on the best selling novel by Freidoune Sahebjam, a French-Iranian journalist, the film depicts the utter hopelessness and suffering of an Islamic female in the name of religious custom. Cruelty, hypocrisy, and collusion all play a part in this heartbreaking account as trumped up charges of adultery are put upon the innocent who is sentenced to be stoned to death.
In still another strong role is Shohreh Aghdashloo as a woman of courage who bears witness to the unjust stoning of her niece. She tells the story to a French journalist (Jim Caviezel) who happens to be passing through the village in need of his car being repaired. The woman has him record on tape the tale of the events leading up to the stoning which happened the day before. She seeks justice and the world knowing about harsh age-old traditions and how manipulation can succeed in the pathetic condemnation of an innocent individual.  The graphic and brutal depiction of the stoning is rather hard to take, but I feel necessary in making one realize what is truly being done. Even the male children of the woman must stone the “disgraced” mother. What a sorry state of affairs that women in this society have absolutely no rights in the male dominated setting.

 Brilliantly done, “THE STONING OF SORAYA M.” holds interest throughout and is one that will stay in your mind for some time to come. Makes one very thankful for being able to live in our free society, a society often maligned but yet the best to be found.

The Players:  Shohreh Aghdashloo, Mozhan Marno, Navid Negahban, David Diaan, Ali Pourtash, Parviz Sayyad, and Jim Caviezel

The Filmmakers:
Directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh
Co-writers: Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh and Cyrus Nowrasteh
     based on the novel by Freidoune Sahebjam
Director of Photography:  Joel Ransom
Music by John Debney
Persian and English dialogue with English subtitles
Distributed by Roadside Attractions and MPower Pictures




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