SURF’S UP

Animated cartoon

F.Y.I.
One of the little-known species of penguin in the Southern Hemisphere is distinguishable by his small stature and spiky yellow feathers projecting sideways. The explorers who first discovered them were so amused to see the penguins jumping over rocks that they named them the Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome).

PRINCIPAL VOICE CONTRIBUTORS
Shia LaBeouf: Cody, a teenage penguin
Jeff Bridges: his hero, the famous surfer Big Z
Mario Cantone: a sandpiper, Mikey Abromowitz, surfing talent-scout
James Woods: Mikey’s boss, surf promoter Reggie Belafonte
Zooey Deschanel: beautiful penguin lifeguard Lani Aliikai
Jon Heder: surfing contestant Chicken Joe
Diedrich Bader: reigning surfing champ Tank Evans

REVIEW
They’ve cranked up the technical side of things one more notch with this latest CGI effort. The degree of realism is remarkable, whether it’s the sea and wave action or just the 3-D effect achieved by the subtle play of light.

Although the story is not all that original, it does have a good message to tell. It would have been better if there were a few more jokes along the way because there are very few, apart from a couple of cute moments that will prompt a smile or two.

CLASSIFICATION
for mild language (the kind that appeals to kids because they’re not supposed to say those words) and some rude humor (the obligatory potty jokes and crude bodily noises).

OFFSIDE

Drama
In Farsi with English subtitles

DEFINITIONS
apartheid (a-part-height)
though pronunciations of the last syllable as [eight], [ite], and [ide] are also heard.
the policy or practice of political, legal, economic, or social discrimination against members of a minority group.

Gender apartheid
the strict gender-based segregation currently practiced in places such as Afghanistan, Iran and some other countries.

theocracy (thee-ok-ruh-see)
A nation or state in which the clergy exercise political power and in which religious law is dominant over civil law.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Sima Mobarak Shahi: First girl
Safar Samandar: Soldier at the Azari arena
Ida Sadeghi: Girl soccer player
Mahnaz Zabihi: Soldier girl
Shayesteh Irani: Smoking girl

REVIEW
This movie is about a subject not often discussed outside the Islamic world, the controversial policy of gender apartheid. Critics contend that in most or all circumstances it is a violation of human rights whereas its supporters assert that it is necessary to maintain decency, sacredness, modesty, or the family unit.

The film takes place in Iran, a theocracy where the President and legislature are constitutionally subject to the supervision of two offices reserved for Islamic Shiah clerics only: the Supreme Leader and the Guardian Council. As expounded by several soldiers in the movie, the traditionalists in power consider women to be delicate flowers who should not be subjected to the rowdy behaviour and vile language of males at soccer games. Consequently this is their justification for not allowing women into stadiums.

But dealing with a controversial subject is the only good thing about the movie. Apart from one or two people, the acting is terrible, often coming across as though they were reading from cue cards for the first time. In addition, the extensive use of a hand-held camera gives the film a look and feel of something done by an amateur for his own entertainment. And there is little evidence any effort has been made to edit the stock film as many sequences go on forever.

CLASSIFICATION
for language throughout, and some thematic elements.

THE ALPS: GIANTS OF NATURE

IMAX documentary

REVIEW
There’s no doubt the Alps never looked better on the screen. But after a while it becomes somewhat repetitive since there are just a limited number of ways to view them. On the other hand several shots are truly impressive, especially of the climbers on the mountain.

Unlike most IMAX films this one actually has a story to tell. But several things distract from the overall enjoyment of the movie: the extraneous bits such as the bungee-jumping and the family playing cards do not add anything germane to the subject matter and the ADR of the professor is amateurish and not up to professional standards at all.

CLASSIFICATION
for General Audiences.

P.S.
ADR (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.

ONCE

2008 Best Original Song




Drama

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Glen Hassard: The Guy, a Dublin street musician
Markéta Irglová: The Girl, a young Czech immigrant
Bill Hodnett: The guy’s Dad, owner of a vacuum cleaner repair shop

REVIEW
What a refreshing change: most current movies tend to be lavish expensive productions with a cast of thousands (ok, I exaggerate a bit), often are way too long with convoluted and overly complex story lines, with the incessant use of the f-word and lots of computer graphic images instead of the real thing.

Well, this one is none of the above. Instead we get to see a charming film with very little plot and acting that comes across as so real it seems like the movie is a documentary. Music is a big part of the film, not surprising given the fact the story is about a talented musician. But the music is never intrusive; it just melds in perfectly with the story. All of the songs are written and performed by the principals and some are a real joy to hear.

CLASSIFICATION
for language. This has got to be a mistake! Apart from a couple of swear words right at the beginning (the guy says one JC and a GD) there is no cursing, no foul mouthed expressions, no obscene language at all. I have no idea how they came up with this classification, as there is absolutely no justification for it.

P.S.
In real life Glen Hassard is the lead singer and songwriter of the Irish rock group called The Frames. The band’s website is at http://www.theframes.ie/

CLOSE TO HOME

Original title: Karov La Bayit
In Hebrew with English subtitles

BACKGROUND
National military service is compulsory for Jewish men and women over the age of 18 living in Israel. Men serve three years in the Israel Defence Forces while women generally serve two years. Once the soldiers complete their IDF combat training some choose to serve in the Mishmar HaGvul, the Israel Border Police. They undergo additional training in counter-terrorism, riot control as well as regular policework before being assigned to one of the Border Guard units around the country.

The Border Police deals with matters of internal security and combating terrorism, securing the seam region, controlling public disturbances and dispersing demonstrations, hostile terrorist actions and preventing crimes in the agricultural sector. They perform random I.D. searches on those who look suspicious (i.e., any and all Palestinians) and serve mainly in Arab villages and towns, near the country borders and in the West Bank. Approximately 20% of all Border Guard personnel are located in the City of Jerusalem alone. In this army the soldiers work a shift and go home at day's end.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Sharon Reginiano: the Commanding Officer
Naama Schendar: 18-year-old soldier Mirit
Smadar Sayar: her partner Smadar

REVIEW
The boredom and tedium of the job is reflected in the slow pace of this movie about women serving in the Israel army. The editing could be better because some scenes drag on too long in this low-budget production.

The story is a good one combining coming-of-age with the realities of growing up in a hurry. It comes across as very believable, in part because of the fine acting by all.


CLASSIFICATION
for some sexuality and violence.

KNOCKED UP

Romantic comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Katherine Heigl: Alison Scott, TV Production Assistant
Leslie Mann: her older sister Debbie
Seth Rogen: Ben Stone, 25-year-old web site developer
Paul Rudd: Debbie’s husband Pete

REVIEW
Clearly aimed at the 18 to 24 male demographic (who are significantly more likely than average to go to the movies at least once a month, at 34 percent, compared with 20 percent for all adults) the movie relies on comedy that is raunchy, vulgar, and obscene.

The f-word is used extensively as are obscene terms for bodily functions and parts of the anatomy (even from Debbie’s 12-year-old daughter) along with explicit indecent gestures, nude scenes, lap dancing and people making out.

Hidden beneath all this there is a tender story of two people in a relationship and trying to make it work. But that is lost in this grossed-out male fantasy film which goes on far too long, clocking in at 2 hours and 9 minutes.

CLASSIFICATION
for sexual content, drug use and language.

BLACK BOOK

Drama
In Dutch and German with English subtitles.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Carice van Houten: singer Rachel Stein (renamed Ellis de Vries)
Derek de Lint: Gerben Kuipers, leader of the Dutch resistance
Thom Hoffman: Doctor Hans Akkermans, another member of the resistance
Sebastian Koch: Gestapo commander Ludwig Muentze
Waldemar Kobus: Muentze’s subordinate Günther Franken
Halina Reijn: Günther’s girlfriend Ronnie

REVIEW
Unlike most movies about the resistance to an occupying army, this one is not all about blowing up things to help the war effort. Instead, it shows how real people dealt with the situation and that things were not always black and white.

Although the movie is almost two and half-hours long, it does not seem like it because the story never gets boring. This is a big budget movie and the production values are consequently top notch. So is the acting with great performances by all, especially van Houten.

CLASSIFICATION
for violence, sex, nudity and profanity.