THE ILLUSIONIST

Drama

BACKGROUND
In an effort to remain a world power and consolidate its crumbling empire in central and eastern Europe, Austria joined with Hungary in 1867 to form the unusual alliance called the Dual Monarchy. The outcome was a geographically large nation of about 50 million people composed of many different language groups and nationalities. Before too long it was regarded as a great European power along with France, Germany, Russia, and Britain. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was ruled from Vienna by the Habsburg monarch who assumed two titles: Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Edward Norton: Eisenheim the Illusionist
Paul Giamatti: Vienna's Chief Inspector Uhl
Rufus Sewell: Crown Prince Leopold, heir-apparent to the throne
Jessica Biel: his fiancée, Duchess Sophie von Teschen

REVIEW
Combining romance and mystery, the movie is beautifully shot with fine acting throughout.

CLASSIFICATION
for some sexuality and violence.

BARNYARD: THE ORIGINAL PARTY ANIMALS

Children’s animated cartoon

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Kevin James: Otis the Cow, the adopted son of Ben the Cow
Jeff Garcia: his little buddy Pip the Mouse
Tino Insana: Pig the Pig (now isn’t that a clever and original name for a pig?)
Sam Elliott: Ben the Cow, the barnyard’s leader
Courteney Cox: Daisy the Cow
Wanda Sykes: her best friend Bessy the Cow
Andie MacDowell: Etta the Hen
Cam Clarke: Freddy the Ferret, best friend of Etta (how weird is that?)
David Koechner: Dag the Coyote
Danny Glover: Ben’s old friend Miles the Mule
Dom Irrera: Duke the Dog, contender for the position of barnyard boss
Maria Bamford: the barnyard neighbour Mrs. Beady
Steve Oedekerk: her husband Mr. Beady

REVIEW
The very best way to get some appreciation as to how the target audience (ages 6 to 10) judges the movie is to attend a rainy day, matinée-afternoon performance with the kids outnumbering the adults by about 10 to 1.

The very first question heard is: “how come the boy cow has those things?”
Translation: how come Otis, the son of Ben, has prominent udders?
Which I knew because this anatomical feature only serves to confuse the whole thing. And there’s no need for it because later we see some bulls without udders (but with their special parts hidden behind a fence or blocked from view by other animals as the case may be.)

Although there are downright funny parts, a couple of chuckles and some toe-tapping interludes, it is only mildly entertaining and really, a bit of a disappointment.

CLASSIFICATION
for some mild peril and rude humor.

P.S.
Once again a movie with one person taking on several important roles (in this case Producer, Director, Writer and in even the voice of one of the characters, Mr. Beady) is less than the sum of its parts.

CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER WOMEN

Drama

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Nora Zehetner: Young Woman
Erik Eidem: Young Man
Helena Bonham Carter: Older Woman
Aaron Eckhart: Older Man
Cerina Vincent: Sarah
Philip Littell: Jeffrey

REVIEW
Although the story may be one we’ve seen or read before, the presentation is something quite different. The entire movie is shot using the spilt-screen technique. It does have its benefits though.
For example:
 we see on one side the person as he/she is today and on the other side a flashback
 or on one side what the person sees/hears and on the other side what he/she wishes to see/hear
 or on one side the man talking/listening and on the other side the woman listening/talking
However it takes some effort to keep checking both sides of the screen since sometimes entirely different things are taking place. For some, this technique will be a big distraction.

This is a “talky-film” with a great deal of dialogue so it comes across as a long one-act play but with more than a few clever lines, some chuckles and lots of bang-on observations about life and love.

Both principal actors give exceptional performances.

CLASSIFICATION
for language and sexual content.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
As the woman and the man are about to get into separate Manhattan taxis, the name of the hotel they were staying in is clearly evident on the awning behind them. Trouble is, Langham Hotels International does not manage or operate one in New York City.

P.S.
Automatic Dialogue Replacement is the re-recording of dialogue in a sound studio during post-production. ADR is frequently used to replace the original recorded sound track because of its poor quality (often due to high levels of background noise) or to change the delivery or the inflection of a line.

In this movie, the man offers a flute of champagne to the woman who starts off by telling him that she is really only an alternative bridesmaid, etc. This is a good example of poor execution of ADR because the lip movements are not even close to what is being said.

WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR?

Documentary

REVIEW
Unusual for a documentary, this one tries to determine the “guilty party” in answering the title question. With strong, well-supported arguments for or against each of the “suspects”, we, the jury, can judge for ourselves.

The sad thing is that it had to happen at all.

CLASSIFICATION
for brief mild language.

INVINCIBLE

True sports story

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Mark Wahlberg: Vincent (Vince) Papale, 30-year old substitute teacher and part-time bartender
Michael Rispoli: owner of Max’s bar in South Philly
Greg Kinnear: first year coach of the NFL Philadelphia Eagles Dick Vermeil
Kevin Conway: Vince’s working class dad
Elizabeth Banks: Max’s cousin and new bartender Janet

REVIEW
As usual when one of the senior crew is responsible for more than one key production area (Ericson Core is both Director and Cinematographer) the results are often less that ideal. Both aspects generally suffer: in this case the acting is generally mediocre at best while the cinematography is pretty unexciting with only the few overhead shots even remotely of interest.

Although it is a good story, one that to many would be considered inspirational, it is unfortunately not one that’s been well told. Die-hard Eagles fans will no doubt overlook any shortcomings. But the rest of us can’t.

One more thing: it has one of the worst endings I’ve seen in years. Seems like someone stood up on the set one day and said “That’s it. Go home.” And they did.

CLASSIFICATION
for sports violence

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
During the open try-out it is evident it was filmed over a period of time because the shadows cut across the yard lines at different angles from one shot to the next.


P.S.
Bit of an exaggeration to title the movie as Invincible.
 Definition: incapable of being conquered, overcome, or subdued.
Granted Vince has to deal with some difficulties, but don’t we all? That hardly warrants his being described as someone who is invincible.

BON COP BAD COP

Crime/Comedy
Bilingual (French and English) with English subtitles

BACKGROUND
The plot involves people and events associated with Canada’s national game, hockey. As such it is good to keep in mind the following:

Peter Pocklington is a Canadian business man who made his fortune in the meat packing industry. He is the former owner of the National Hockey League team Edmonton Oilers.

Wayne Gretzky, nicknamed "The Great One," is described in The Official Encyclopedia of the NHL as "the greatest hockey player of all time.” He played for the Edmonton Oilers and wore #99 on his jersey.

In what became known as “The Trade”, Pocklington traded Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings. This upset Canadians to the extent that a member of Parliament demanded the government block it. To many hockey fans, Pocklington became the most-hated man in the NHL, if not in all of Canada. Pocklington was burned in effigy in many parts of the country.

Gary Bettman has served as Commissioner of the NHL since February 1993. He has come under heavy criticism from many Canadian hockey fans for his attempts to increasingly Americanize the NHL and has the reputation of being anti-Canadian. A diminutive man, this has also been a subject of derision.

Don Cherry is a hockey commentator for CBC Television and co-hosts the "Coach's Corner" intermission segment on the long running sports program Hockey Night in Canada. Known for his outspoken, opioniated comments he is not well liked by everyone.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Patrick Huard: Quebec Provincial Police Detective David Bouchard
Lucie Laurier: his ex-wife Suzie
Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse: their 15-year-old daughter Gabrielle
Colm Feore: Ontario Provincial Police Detective Martin Ward
Sarian Boylan: his sister Iris
Rick Mercer: Tom Berry, bombastic hockey television commentator
Peter Pickleton, owner of a hockey team
Harry Buttman, Hockey League Commissioner

REVIEW
To quote the official website “a feature film where the cultural differences of our country are at the heart of the story. It is a film where Anglophones speak French, where Francophones speak English and, in perfectly Canadian fashion, nobody can understand one another.”

They could have also added “nobody can understand the plot.” It’s all rather confusing but perhaps not all that important since clearly there are good guys and bad guys at odds with one another. Lots of clever lines and some outright chuckles as they poke fun at the stereotypical English and French Canadians.

A couple of scenes are a little too graphic and several jokes may be offensive to some.

CLASSIFICATION
for some sexuality and violence.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
When Tom Berry is interviewing the two detectives, he starts out with his tie nicely centered but part way through it’s off to the side.

P.S.
Tête carrée: literal translation square head. Historically viewed as derogatory term for an Anglophone (an English speaker in the province of Quebec), nowadays often used in a humourous manner.

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

Comedy/drama

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Greg Kinnear: Richard Hoover the dad, a motivational speaker
Toni Collette: Sheryl the mom
Paul Dano: Dwayne the teenage son
Abigail Breslin: Olive the 9-year-old daughter, a beauty pageant addict
Steve Carell: their Uncle Frank
Alan Arkin: Richard’s dad and potty mouth grandfather

REVIEW
Good performances by all and crisp editing make this an entertaining, sometimes funny movie that weaves together an eclectic family group all working together, albeit somewhat reluctantly for some. Although there are a lot of chuckles at the family’s misadventures, it’s not hard to see the reality of it either.

CLASSIFICATION
for some sexual remarks, drug use and language (quite a few f-words)

P.S.
Marcel Proust (July 1871 – November 1922) was a French intellectual, novelist, essayist and critic, best known as the author of In Search of Lost Time.