PENELOPE

Romantic comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Christina Ricci: 25-year old spinster Penelope Wilhern
Catherine O'Hara: her socialite mother Jessica
Richard E. Grant: her wealthy father Franklyn
Simon Woods: wealthy suitor Edward Vanderman Jr.
Peter Dinklage: midget journalist Lemon
James McAvoy: poker-player Max
Reese Witherspoon: motorcycle messenger Annie

REVIEW
The target audience is clearly teenage girls who might be having a problem with their own body image and identity. Based on the reaction of several 15-year-old girls in the audience, who giggled and made other audible sounds, they’ve hit the mark. For the rest of us any movie that that opens with the caption "Once upon a time…" immediately sets the scene and the final outcome is no longer in doubt.

Along the way there are a few chuckles but only one real “laffer” uttered by Annie when in the bar.

CLASSIFICATION
for thematic elements, some innuendo and language.

THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL

Historical drama

BACKGROUND
The second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, young Henry became heir to the throne of England in 1502 when his older brother Arthur died. With the death of his father in 1509, the 17-year-old became King Henry VIII. He then married his brother’s widow, Katherine of Aragon, the 23-year-old daughter of King Ferninand and Queen Isabella of Spain.

Sir Thomas Boleyn was an opportunistic Tudor diplomat and politician. He married Lady Elizabeth Howard and they had at least five children, three of whom survived their early childhood: Lady Mary born in 1499, Lady Anne born in 1501 and George born in 1504.

Their ambitious uncle Thomas Howard was also a prominent politician.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Mark Rylance: Sir Thomas Boleyn
Kristin Scott Thomas: his wife Lady Elizabeth
Scarlett Johansson: their eldest daughter Mary
Natalie Portman: her sister Anne
Jim Sturgess: their brother George
Benedict Cumberbatch: merchant William Carey
Oliver Coleman: Henry Percy, son of the county's largest landowner
David Morrissey: Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
Eric Bana: King Henry VIII
Ana Torrent: Queen Katharine of Aragon

REVIEW
With the backing of the BBC you’re pretty sure of getting a well documented, mostly historically accurate, lavish production. The costumes alone are worth the price of admission.

With strong performances throughout, it moves along at a pretty fast clip so you have to pay attention as things evolve because there is a lot going on. For some, perhaps too much but history-buffs will appreciate the wealth of information presented. And maybe even gain a better understanding of those troubled times.

CLASSIFICATION
for mature thematic elements, sexual content and some violent images (but thankfully not too violent).

P.S.
The Boleyn family name is pronounced beau-lynne (or if you prefer bow, the thing you tie, -lynne)

Later in life, Henry VIII became grossly overweight, winding up with a 54”waist. His increased size dates from a jousting accident in 1536 when he suffered a thigh wound which prevented him from exercising.

DEFINITELY MAYBE

Romantic comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Ryan Reynolds: 30-something advertising executive Will Hayes
Abigail Breslin: his 10-year-old daughter Maya
Elizabeth Banks: Will's college sweetheart Emily
Isla Fisher: April, copy girl with Clinton’s election campaign
Rachel Weisz: Emily's old school chum Summer

REVIEW
The quirky title gives a hint as to what might follow: a different slant on the traditional romantic comedy. Usually there three people (one guy and two girls or the other way around) but this time there are four people involved. And we are supposed to figure out the correct combination of the two who finally pair up. Trouble is it takes far too long (almost 2 hours) and by that time a lot of us really don’t care anymore.

Although the acting by several of the women is pretty good the same cannot be said of the Will Hayes character. Nor is the movie very funny. Both these things are so-so at best.

CLASSIFICATION
for sexual content including some frank dialogue, language and smoking.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
 Will begins relating his story to Maya by telling her this all started “back in 1992, before cell phones and email”. The very next shot belies that statement as we see someone talking on a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. This so-called “brick” was first introduced in 1983, weighed almost 2 pounds and cost a mere $3,995. As a matter of fact, the NEC Cellstar 500 series was much in use back in 1992 and was fairly small, only about twice as big as current cellphones.

 Regarding email, it started back in 1965, albeit in a limited fashion, as a way for multiple users of a mainframe computer to communicate. By 1977 email was so popular the US Postal Service said it posed a significant threat to First Class mail volumes and revenue. And by 1992 people already had to deal with the ugly side of email: SPAM, fraud, and phishing so it was well and truly part of our world back then.

THE COUNTERFEITERS

2008 Best foreign language picture




Fact based drama
In German with English subtitles

F.Y.I.
Collotype is a photographic process used for large volume mechanical printing before the existence of the cheaper and less complicated offset lithography method. The collotype plate is coated with a special dichromated gelatine and set at a controlled temperature then it has to be carefully washed and dried without heat for 24 hours before using it.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Karl Markovics: master forger 45-year-old Salomon “Sally” Sorowitsch
Devid Striesow: police superintendent Friedrich Herzog
August Diehl: left-wing activist and collotype specialist Adolf Burger

REVIEW
Some fine acting serves to keep this thriller moving along at a good clip. Shot in monochromatic greys, attention to detail is much in evidence. Unlike most movies about events that took place during World War II, this story is not that well known despite the fact it was the biggest operation of its kind ever. Given that it’s a thiller not too much more need be said.

CLASSIFICATION
for intense violence and some scenes of brief nudity.

UP THE YANGTZE

Documentary
In Mandarin with English subtitles

BACKGROUND
With the stated aim of generating much-needed electrical power and alleviating dangerous annual flooding, construction of China’s mammoth Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River began in 1993. It is the biggest engineering endeavour in the world since the Great Wall. Upon completion (scheduled for 2009) it will be the largest hydroelectric power station in the world.

Critics have alleged that corruption has led to potentially lethal construction shortcuts and that insufficient care has been taken in flooding nearly 400 square miles, some of which contained old factories and accumulated toxic chemicals.

The dam will displace more than a million residents (flooding 137 cities and towns, 1,000 villages) and destroy numerous cultural and archaeological sites including 40,000 gravesites. The flood waters will contain the refuse of at least 178 rubbish dumps containing 3 million tons of garbage in addition to the radioactive debris from more than 100 different sources.

As predicted the river is silting up due to the reduced flow of water and the human and industrial waste gathering behind the dam is causing water quality to deteriorate. Of most immediate concern is erosion, with the hillsides suffering a series of landslides and the Three Gorges Reservoir's shoreline collapsing in more than 90 places, according to one study. In early 2008 a government report admitted: "There exist many ecological and environmental problems concerning the Three Gorges Dam. If no preventive measures are taken, the project could lead to catastrophe."

F.Y.I.
100 yuan = $15 (approximately)

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
16-year-old Yu Shui aka Cindy
19-year-old Chen Bo Yu aka Jerry

REVIEW
The filmmaking crew has purposely ignored dwelling upon the negative aspect this project is having on the country. Although there are several brief references to some of the criticism levied by others, the main theme is that of the impact the Three Gorges dam has on one family. And by extension, how it affects the lives of others.

The subtle play of contrasts is often apparent and there are moments of brief hilarity. Some of the photography is stunning with the DP having chosen the right moment and making use of the polluted atmosphere has created many beautiful images.

Informative, well researched and balanced the overall impact is quite a revelation. The spontaneous applause by the audience would suggest it’s a must-see for anyone interested in the changing world in which we live.

CLASSIFICATION


P.S.
After the screening, I spoke with Yung Chang, the Director, who said he first got the idea of the film back in 2002 when taking one of the so-called Farewell cruises on the Yangtze to visit the area before it became completely flooded. As he travelled with family members up the river he began to realise there was a connection between the boat and those on shore.

NORMAL

Drama

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Carrie-Anne Moss: Catherine
Andrew Airlie: her husband Dale
Cameron Bright: their son Brady
Kevin Zegers: 20-something-year-old Jordie
Callum Keith Rennie: Walt Braugher, university professor
Tygh Runyan: his younger brother Dennis
Lauren Lee Smith: Sherri, student and part-time television weather reporter

REVIEW
I may be wrong but it seems to me Carl Bessai saw the movie Crash and said something to himself along the lines of

“I can write a story like that about a group of unhappy people in dysfunctional relationships all linked because of some tragic event. But I’ll have actors who just read their lines and include a couple of really sexy scenes to compensate. And in addition to writing the movie I’ll also direct it, produce it and handle the cinematography ‘cause I’m a one-man-show.”

And he might have added, “I’ll drag it out as long as I can with contrived situations and ultimately end up with a totally unsatisfying ending.”

Nuff said.

CLASSIFICATION
for several explicit, graphic, prolonged sexual encounters, the hallmark of hardcore pornography.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
Catherine is stacking the cereal boxes and although she doesn’t touch the one on the left hand side laying down on its side, it moves from shot to shot.

When Sherri begins her weather report the clock behind her shows it to be 1:02pm. Although she only speaks for a minute or so, when her report is over it is now 1:25pm.

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICALS

Fantasy adventure

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
David Strathairn: explorer and scientist Arthur Spiderwick
Sarah Bolger: 15-year-old Mallory
Freddie Highmore: her younger twin brothers Jared and Simon
Mary-Louise Parker: their mother Helen
Joan Plowright: Arthur’s daughter Lucinda (Lucy)

REVIEW
Two things make movies geared to children interesting to adults:
1. The story appeals to the child in us
2. There are double entendres for adults only that leave the children wondering “what are they laughing at?”

Unfortunately this one only meets the first criteria so it is a bit of a bore having to sit through one more version of the classic “children-overcome-monsters” movie.

One thing that is impressive though is the CGI. These computer-generated images are seamlessly incorporated with the live action to the point it’s almost impossible to tell what’s real and what’s pure fantasy.

CLASSIFICATION
for scary creature action (but not too scary) and violence, peril and thematic elements.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
According to an intertitle the opening events took place 80-years ago which would have been in 1928. But on the bookshelf Jared rummages through there are several books published after that date, one as late as 1933.

The inhabitants are subjected to a serious attack by some of the creatures and the house sustains a lot of damage in the process. But you wouldn’t know it from the overhead crane shot near the end of the movie, as it never looked better.