THE GUARD

Police drama

F.Y.I.
In Gaelic the full official title of the Irish national police force is Garda Síochána na hÉireann. The English translation would be the "Guardians of the Peace of Ireland” but they are more commonly referred to as the Garda, meaning the police.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Brendan Gleeson: Garda Sergeant Gerry Boyle
Rory Keenan: Dublin transfer Garda Aidan McBride
Gary Lydon: their boss Garda Inspector Stanton
Don Cheadle: FBI agent Wendell Everett
Michael Og Lane: 12-year-old Eugene Moloney
Fionnula Flanagan: Boyle’s mum Eileen
Liam Cunningham: Francis Skeffington, boss of the drug smuggling gang
Clive Cornell: the muscled thug Mark Strong
Liam O'Leary: his partner David Wilmot

REVIEW
Set in the western coast of Ireland, this tale of criminals and corruption is unlike others in that the two leads are so different. With clever writing and crisp editing it moves along at a rapid rate. Although Sergeant Bolye’s wry comments and persona elicit most of the humour there are other oddball characters that add to the fray.

One thing I found missing though: the Irish are famous for their quick witty repartee and clever retorts. And there was none of that. Guess you can’t have everything?

CLASSIFICATION

for pervasive language, violence, drug references and sexual content.

FAIR GAME

Political drama
Based on a true story

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Naomi Watts: high-ranking “non-official covert operative” C.I.A. agent Valerie Plame
Sean Penn: her husband former ambassador Joseph Wilson
Liraz Charhi: Zahraa, a physican
Khaled Nabawy: her brother Hammad
Michael Kelly: Valerie's immediate supervisor Jack
David Andrews: Irve Lewis "Scooter" Libby, aide to Vice-President Dick Cheney
Adam LeFevre: White House Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove
Sam Shepard: Valerie's career military dad Sam

REVIEW
We all know “you can’t fight city hall”. How about fighting the administration of the most powerful political body in the entire world, the United States government? In a word: you ain’t got a hope in heck!

Back in 2003 there was some dispute whether Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction or not. Anyone suggesting that the White House misled the public in its justification for going to war would have to be dealt with in the most effective manner.

With great attention to detail (except for one teeny miscue noted below) it all rings true. Both Naomi Watts and Sean Penn are outstanding but this has to be one of Penn’s very best performances ever.

CLASSIFICATION
for some language.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
This is one of my classic all-time favourite nitpicks: at the end of the telephone conversation Joe hangs up and Valerie is left listening to the dial tone. In reality the dial tone is only heard after picking up the phone before dialling. That’s why it’s called a dial tone.

P.S.
I have yet to figure out how the first scene relates to the rest of the movie.

MILK

Political drama
Based on a true story

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Sean Penn: Harvey Milk, a New Yorker about to turn 40
James Franco: Scott Smith, someone he meets in the subway
Emile Hirsch: street hustler Cleve Jones
Zvi Rosenman: David Goodstein publisher of Advocate, a gay and lesbian magazine
Diego Luna: Jack Lira, one of Harvey’s close friends
Alison Pill: Harvey’s campaign manager Anne Kronenberg
Denis O'Hare: California State Senator John Briggs
Josh Brolin: Dan White, former San Francisco policeman
Victor Garber: San Francisco's Mayor George Moscone

REVIEW
The rise of Harvey Milk to a position of importance is adeptly played out making use of flashbacks as he dictates his memoir. Penn and Brolin give outstanding performances; the supporting cast are almost as good.

The melding of archival film and recreations is done in a manner it’s hard to tell them apart, given the attention to period detail. In fact the entire movie looks and feels so real with the exception of a few minor instances.

CLASSIFICATION
for profanity, sexual situations and some violence.