LIFE IS A MIRACLE

Original title: Zivot je cudo
In Serbia, German and Hungarian with English subtitles.
Comedy

REVIEW
This has to be one of the most boring, dumbest, uninteresting movies I’ve seen in a long time. Supposedly a comedy about a little village in Serbia, it is anything but. The jokes are not funny, unless you think two drunks taking turns shooting a beer bottle off the head of their giggling friend is a real knee-slapper. Or the fact each time the locals take the train a donkey is standing straddling the tracks. I can hardly contain myself with laughter just thinking about it. Then every once in a while they all break into a song which seems so out of place.

But that’s not all: the film is laced with propaganda promoting the idea that it was Bosnia that started the war and not Serbia. I thought the war there had ended. Anyway, that was the end for me and I walked out part way through the film.

CLASSIFICATION
for some sexuality and violence.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
When she begins performing on stage, the opera singer has a run in her stockings. But by the time she has finished the song, it is no longer there.

P.S.
The dubbing of the opera singer is amateurish. The lip-sync is totally out of whack.

THE MACHINIST

Original title: El Maquinista
Psychological horror thriller

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Christian Bale: machine-shop operator Trevor Reznik
John Sharian: Ivan, fellow employee
Michael Ironside: Miller another co-worker
Jennifer Jason Leigh: Stevie, a sexy hooker
Aitana Sánchez-Gijón: Marie, a waitress at the airport café

REVIEW
This movie is not for everyone. A rather bland low budget film with a moody, sombre setting of washed out colours (to match all the washed out people?). There is a minimum of gruesome, scary bits but enough to retain its classification as a horror movie. With various clues scattered throughout the movie, the ending should not come as a great surprise to fans of this type of movie. It caught me completely off guard of course since "I never go to these type of movies".

CLASSIFICATION
for violence, disturbing images, sexuality and strong language.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
1. When Trevor is talking to Marie out at the airport café, the digital clocks behind her show the local time and in New York City. But the clock in NYC never reflects the exact time zone difference of 3 hours: it is always a few minutes out, sometimes too early but most often too late.
2. Wanting to wash his hands thoroughly, Trevor uses the liquid lye sitting on the shelf. No body would do this because lye can be fatal if swallowed.
3. When Ivan gets hurt he falls face down; when Trevor approaches him, Ivan has somehow flipped over on to his back and his feet can be seen sticking straight up.

P.S.
The lead actor lost 63 pounds for this role by eating only an apple and one can of tuna a day. Sure beats some of the well-known diet plans for getting results it seems.

OCEAN’S TWELVE

Crime thriller

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Brad Pitt: ever-snacking smart-talking Rusty Ryan
Catherine Zeta-Jones: Rusty’s girlfriend Isabel Lahiri, a policewoman
Andy Garcia: Terry Benedict, the victim of the gang’s $160 million heist three years ago
George Clooney: Danny Ocean, charming con-artist and thief
Julia Roberts: Danny's wife Tess
Matt Damon: Linus Caldwell, a bumbling wannabe crook
Elliott Gould: Reuben Tishkoff, an old-school Las Vegas entrepreneur
Carl Reiner: Saul Bloom, a retired con man
Vincent Cassel: François Toulour, aka “Night Fox”, the world’s most elusive jewel thief

REVIEW
The problems with sequels are twofold: they tend to suffer from déja vu (characters, plot etc) and by their very nature, lack originality. Consequently more often than not, the original is better. Such is the case with this one.

In addition, the story is muddled and convoluted. Adding to the confusion are the rapid-fire explanations of their planned heists. One good thing though: the happy-go-lucky tone of the original is much in evidence.

CLASSIFICATION
for language.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
According to Danny, the theft of four paintings included one called The Blue Dancer by Degas. Dancers were often the subjects of his paintings, but none was given that title.

Walking towards her father, Isabel is carrying a handbag in her left hand. She then wraps her arms around him but clearly there is nothing in her hands. Her handbag has disappeared.

P.S.
The title of the movie reflects the addition of Tess to Oceans' original gang of eleven thieves.

One bonus is getting a travelogue of Europe: we get to see Amsterdam, Paris, Rome and Lake Como (one of his residences when Clooney is not making movies).

STANDER

Drama,true story

BACKGROUND
In 1948 the all white National Party won the South Africa elections. They immediately began implementing stricter racial segregation policies, called "Apartheid". In some ways Apartheid (an Afrikaans word that means separation) was an extension of the segregationist laws implemented by previous white minority governments. It was to last for 42 years until dismantled in 1990.
The most Draconian measures were to strip black South Africans of having any vote and not allowing them to run for public office. Consequently, they had absolutely no say in their government. The so-called Pass Laws were the most direct way in which the blacks were suppressed. If your passbook was out of order you could be arrested, detained, or imprisoned. The Pass Laws also restricted black Africans to living in the townships (shantytowns often just outside main industrial areas) unless they had paid all their taxes and could prove that they had a job in the city.
During a reorganisation of the Education Department in 1976, the government decided that secondary education would be conducted only in Afrikaans, rather than in English or any of the native African languages. This was bitterly resented by both teachers and students.

The Soweto Township is one of the largest in South Africa, located just outside of Johannesburg, the richest and most important city in the country. A protest march was organised on June 16, 1976 and over 20,000 students participated. The regular day-to-day tension between blacks and the police force of the apartheid regime was coupled now with the anger directed at the recent changes to the education act. Conflict began almost immediately as police shot off rounds of tear-gas and then fired their guns into the crowds. The police showed no mercy as they attacked students of all ages, whether armed or unarmed. These were the most brutal and violent riots that had ever taken place against the South African apartheid administration. Realising the scale of these riots, the government reacted in the way any government would: with the full use of organised violence. The police actions during and following the riots would be part of what instigated a worldwide boycott of South African produce and resulted in the increased militancy of the black population of South Africa. The Soweto riots signalled the beginning of the end for the racist, colonial state of South Africa.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Thomas Jane: André Stander, Captain in the South African Police Service
Deborah Unger: his wife Bekkie
Marius Weyers: André’s father General Stander
David O’Hara: Allan Hey, one of André’s accomplices
Dexter Fletcher: Lee McCall, the third member of the Stander Gang

REVIEW
This is the true story of one man’s reaction to the troubles in his country. The acting throughout is excellent and the story moves along at a good clip. There are some funny moments along with the fast paced action scenes.

CLASSIFICATION
for violence, language, some sexuality and nudity (which really seems out of place)

P.S.
During a question and answer period at the Sundance Festival, the director was asked, “Was all this exactly like it happened?” Her reply says it all: "the outrageous stuff was true, but we had to add normal plot fillers to help the story dramatically."

ALEXANDER

Biography

BACKGROUND
Born in 356 BC in Pella, Macedonia Alexander conquered almost all of Egypt, overthrew the Persian Empire, then moved farther and farther east, expanding the limits of the world, while remaking the world in his image. He continued all the way to India until turning back. In Babylon, while busy with plans to improve the irrigation of the Euphrates river, he was taken ill after a prolonged banquet and drinking bout. Ten days later, he died in his 33rd year; he had reigned for 12 years and eight months. His body, diverted to Egypt by Ptolemy, was eventually placed in a golden coffin in Alexandria (it has never been found). Both in Egypt and elsewhere he received divine honours. Even during his lifetime the subject of fabulous stories, he later became the hero of a full-scale legend bearing only the sketchiest resemblance to his historical career.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Colin Farrell: Alexander the Great
Anthony Hopkins: Ptolemy who narrates Alexander's life while teaching students about his former commander
Val Killer: Alexander’s brutal father, the one-eyed King Philip II
Angolan Jolly: Alexander’s bossy mother, Queen Olympias
Jared Alto: Hephaistion boyhood friend, fellow soldier and favourite of Alexander
Rosario Dawson: Roxane, one of Alexander’s wives

REVIEW
Even the most dedicated amateur historian will find this movie insufferable. It is too long (almost 3 hours), with interminable lengthy speeches on very esoteric subjects. Not only that, the movie is poorly constructed with a very important event in Alexander’s life (the death of his father) which is referred to any number of times, but not shown until eight years after it took place. Showing this flashback and hour or so too late makes no sense. But these are only minor complaints.

The major problem with the film is that there is simply too much narrative and not enough action. Queen Olympias had it right when she cautioned her son, “Beware of men who talk too much.”

You’ve been warned.

CLASSIFICATION
for violence, some sexuality and nudity

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
Queen Olympias has a beauty mark over her right eye. In one of the many scenes where she is lecturing Alexander, it has moved over to her left eye.

There are so many times when scratches and scars come and go that it is impossible to catalogue them all.

P.S.
Oliver Stone’s reputation was made on fine films like “Platoon” and “JFK”. It’s quite something to discover he is capable of making such a dull movie.

KINSEY

Documentary

BACKGROUND
In 1948, the first volume from the 10-year sex research data was published as Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and quickly became a best seller known simply as "The Kinsey Report”. Five years later, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female became the second "Kinsey Report." After Dr. Kinsey's death in 1956 at the age of 62, the Kinsey Institute researchers went on to publish three more volumes from the data obtained from more than 18,000 people.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Liam Neeson: Professor Alfred C. Kinsey
John Lithgow: Kinsey’s teacher-preacher father
Laura Linney: Prof. Kinsey’s wife Clara McMillen aka Mac
Peter Sarsgaard: Clyde Martin, one of Dr. Kinsey’s assistants

REVIEW
This is one movie that does not mince words. They tell it like it is in a very frank almost clinical–like manner. Not only is it enlightening and revealing, it is also humorous at times.

CLASSIFICATION
for pervasive sexual content including some frontal nudity, frequent use of the f-word, as well as explicit graphic images and descriptions.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
When Clara serves Clyde breakfast one morning a box of Kellogg’s Toasted Corn Flakes can be seen on the cupboard shelf. The brand name had been changed to Kellogg’s Corn Flakes in 1915, some 25 years earlier.

While Dr. Kinsey and the President of the university are talking with Dr. Greg about getting a grant from the Rockefeller centre, in the mirror behind them on the right hand side you can see one of the production crew ducking out of sight.

P.S.
While the final credits roll some of the Institute’s original black and white movies of animals engaged in the sex act are amusing, unless of course, you are a porcupine.

WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW?

Documentary

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Marlee Matlin: Amanda, a photographer
Robert Bailey Jr.: Reggie, a young basketball player
Barry Newman: Amanda’s boss
Elaine Hendrix: Jennifer, Amanda’s house guest

REVIEW
The movie has an unusual combination of film elements. Some very learned, highly regarded people express their views on a variety of subjects. Animation and/or cartoons are used to better explain these concepts. Interspersed are some simplistic dramatic sequences showing the effect some of these ideas have on one person, in this case, Amanda. All this and a rather busy visual style with ripple effects, whiteouts etc.

In a word, this is one very different documentary that is content-rich and touches upon a wide variety of subjects: quantum physics, group consciousness, spirituality, and the power of thinking. This is one for the open-minded, mature, thinking-man and thinking-woman.

CLASSIFICATION
for some language and mild thematic elements.

P.S.
By substituting “Bleep” for the f-word, the title trivialises the principal message of the movie: what do we really know? The producers did not have to resort to that artificial device to get people to come see the film; it stands on its own merits, without the use of crudity.