DUPLICITY

Crime drama

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Tom Wilkinson: Howard Tully, CEO of Burkett & Randle
Paul Giamatti: Richard “Dick” Garsik, CEO of rival Equikrom
Julia Roberts: Claire Stenwick, an operative for the C.I.A
Clive Owen: Ray Koval, an MI6 agent

REVIEW
Since for a long time we're not made privy to what's going on, at the risk of spoiling everything just let me say this: with their backgrounds both Clarire and Ray are well positioned to enter the private sector, working for the counterespionage departments of competing consumer-products giants.

Typical of the James Bond-type caper, the action takes place in more than one exotic location with each flashback providing some insight to what has just transpired. All this gets a bit confusing though.

At 2 hours and five minutes it is a tad too long and there is at least one twist too many in this convoluted plot which will leave many wondering “who dunnit?”; me included.

CLASSIFICATION
for language and some sexual content.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
1. When celebrating their success, the bottles of Stella Artois on the counter change position between shots although no one approaches them.
2. A waiter opens a bottle of champagne and fills Claire’s glass mostly with froth. While filling Ray’s glass the froth settles and Claire winds up with hardly any champagne at all. The waiter leaves and they toast something with Claire’s glass now magically half full.

CROSSING OVER

Crime drama

F.Y.I.
The Department of Homeland Security was created in March 2003 and charged with the responsibility of protecting the United States within, at, and outside its borders. It absorbed the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and assumed its duties. In doing so, it divided the enforcement and services functions into two separate agencies: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Citizenship and Immigration Services. Additionally, the border enforcement functions of the INS were consolidated into a new agency, the Customs and Border Protection.

The EB-1 form is an immigrant visa which allows foreign nationals with 'extraordinary ability' in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics to obtain permanent residency in the U.S.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Harrison Ford: Max Brogan, an agent with ICE
Cliff Curtis: his Iranian-American partner Hamid Baraheri
Alice Braga: an illegal Mexican Mireya Sanchez
Melody Khazae: Hamid’s sister Zahra, an employee in a copy shop
Alice Eve: Claire Shepard, a would-be actress
Jim Sturgess: Gavin Kossef, a would-be musician
Ray Liotta: Cole Frankel, an Applications Adjudicator with ICE
Ashley Judd: his wife Denise, an immigration lawyer
Summer Bishil: 15-year-old Taslima Jahangir
Jacqueline Obradors: another ICE agent
Justin Chon: a Korean teenage immigrant Yong Kim

REVIEW
The list of characters gives some hint to the complexity of the story about the impact US immigration and naturalization policy has on people. The point could have been better made with fewer plot lines perhaps but this grab-bag approach does cover quite a cross section of personal woes.

Although most of it rings true (well as true as movies ring) there are several instances that make mockery of reality (you’ll know them when you see them) that serve no purpose other than dramatic overkill. And some of the acting is a little over the top.

All this means to say it’s not a lousy movie, just a bit too much to handle easily in one sitting.

CLASSIFICATION
for pervasive language, some strong violence and sexuality/nudity.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
The raid on a garment factory begins at night and takes only 20 or 30 minutes but they all exit out of the building into bright sunshine.

SUNSHINE CLEANING

Comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Amy Adams: Rose Lorkowski, cleaning lady with the Pretty Clean company
Jason Spevack: her seven-year-old son Oscar
Steve Zahn: Rose’s boyfriend, Albuquerque police detective Mac
Emily Blunt: Rose’s younger sister Norah
Alan Arkin: Rose and Norah’s widowed father Joe
Clifton Collins: Winston, proprietor of a janitorial supply store

REVIEW
Definitely a little off the beaten track in terms of the central hook (the crime- scene cleanup business) the movie nevertheless provides a fair share of laughs along with some serious moments too. They don't weigh things down, rather they add an element of reality to the goings-on.

Although the camerawork and sound track are notable, it is the acting by the two principals that really stand out: Amy Adams is one dandy actress and Emily Blunt is no slouch either. Together they come across as real sisters and are very believable.

CLASSIFICATION
for language, disturbing images, sexuality and drug use.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
When the family is in a restaurant one of the menus has a mind of its own: between shots it moves about without anyone touching it, reorienting itself 90 degrees and even standing up like a tent.

P.S.
Some of the scenes are a little gross but do not come about as a surprise so can be easily avoided by closing your eyes for a moment or two.

ADVENTURELAND

Comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Jesse Eisenberg: 22-year-old recent college graduate James Brennan
Wendie Malick: his mom
Jack Gilpin: his dad
Matt Bush: his best friend Tommy Frigo
Bill Hader: Adventureland amusement park owner Bobby
Kristen Wiig: his wife Paulette
Martin Starr: James’ older co-worker Joel Schiffman
Kristen Stewart: another co-worker Emily (aka Em) Lewin
Ryan Reynolds: Mike Connell, park maintaince man
Margarita Levieva: the park’s “hotty” Lisa P.
Josh Pais: Em’s father
Mary Birdsong: Em’s stepmother

REVIEW
Casting has done a really good job: these are real-life, believable characters who interact like real people and talk like real people. In addition the acting is bang on in this coming-of-age movie centered around teenage romance. More restrained than many pictures of this sort, particularly the sexy bits, it is also more thought provoking.

One other thing: crude humour involving puking and groin punches to my mind takes it down a notch in trying to meet the expectations of some members of the audience. Mind you it’s not wall-to-wall crudeness and profanity but it has some of these elements that I could do without.

CLASSIFICATION
for language, drug use and sexual references.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
1. During the party at Em’s house one of the guests is walking about with his sunglasses on top of his head. This fashion statement did not exist when these events took place in 1987.
2. The etymology of the expression “it sucks” is the subject of some debate but was not used in 1987.

I LOVE YOU, MAN

Comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Paul Rudd: Peter Klaven, a L.A. real estate agent
Rashida Jones: his fiancée Zooey
Jaime Presley: Zooey’s best friend Denise
Jane Curtain: Peter’s mother Joyce
J.K. Simmons: Peter’s father Oswald
Andy Samberg: Robbie, Peter’s younger brother
Jon Favreau: Denise's husband Barry
Jason Segel: Sydney Fife, a self proclaimed investment consultant

REVIEW
Comedy, they say, comes in many forms. This one relies on getting laughs mainly from sexually explicit dialogue about masturbation and oral sex,
vulgar references to parts of the female anatomy and showing raunchy sex videos. To add to the hilarity Peter tries his hand at a beer chugging contest that provokes projectile vomiting all over his friend.

A lot in the audience found all this hilarious and frequently laughed out loud so it is appealing to the right target audience. But not to me as I walked out after half an hour.

CLASSIFICATION
for pervasive language, including crude and sexual references.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
While talking on the phone, the newspaper Sydney was reading is laying on his chest. Although he doesn’t touch it, between shots it reorients itself 90 degrees.

MONSTERS VS ALIENS

Animated adventure

PRINCIPAL VOICES
Reese Witherspoon: Susan Murphy a young woman about to be married
Paul Rudd: her fiancé Derek Dietl, a TV weatherman
Kiefer Sutherland: General W.R. Monger
Seth Rogen: B.O.B., a blue gelatinous blob
Hugh Laurie: Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D., a mad scientist
Will Arnett: the Missing Link, a 20,000-year-old fish-ape hybrid
Rainn Wilson: Gallaxhar, an evil alien overlord
Stephen Colbert: the President of the United States

REVIEW
The five-year-olds in the audience seemed to be enjoying the non-stop action but the rest of us were waiting for the fun part: it never came. It is not unreasonable to expect some levity in an animated cartoon movie, especially the double-entendre-type of jokes intended for the adults. But no such luck.

The only creature with any sort of personality is a blue blob and it offers the only chuckle in the movie. So disappointing; how sad.

CLASSIFICATION
for sci-fi action, some crude humor and mild language.

KNOWING

Science fiction

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Lara Robinson: Lucinda Embry, a student in a Boston primary school
Chandler Canterbury: 10-year-old Caleb Koestler
Nicolas Cage: his father John, a professor of astrophysics at MIT
Nadia Townsend: John’s sister Grace
Rose Byrne: Lucinda’s daughter Diana
Lara Robinson: Diana’s 10-year-old daughter Abby

REVIEW
It starts off with a decent premise, suitably mysterious and worthy of being solved 50 years later. Trouble is, as one member of the audience remarked, “John does it all by himself in a matter of minutes and denies the rest of us any opportunity to figure it out for ourselves…what a gyp!”

But that’s not the only problem with the film: it’s too long by at least half an hour with a totally unnecessary trip to an old cabin and a prolonged finale that “goes on forever”. In fact as someone else observed “the ending needs to be rewritten to come to a more satisfying conclusion”. Nuff said.

In all fairness though, the CGI effects are quite impressive and there are several creepy moments, scary enough that the kid sitting beside me jumped out of his seat 3 or 4 inches on two occasions.

CLASSIFICATION
for disaster sequences, disturbing images and brief language.