JCVD

Crime\drama
With English subtitles as required

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Jean-Claude Van Damme: JCVD, famous martial arts movie actor
Francois Damiens: Detective Bruges
Herve Sogne: Lt. Smith
Karim Belkhadra: Vigile, leader of the bad guys
Norbert Rutili: his partner Perthier

REVIEW
Fans of Jean-Claude Van Damme, better known as “the Muscles from Brussels”, will no doubt be absolutely thrilled to see their hero playing a more serious role. The rest of us probably could care less.

It seems the producers have thrown out the book on how to make a decent movie. The washed out colours, primarily a yellowish sepia, set a dreary tone as well as being downright boring. Perhaps to offset that the use of strong overhead lighting creates bright over-exposed areas. Weird.

Instead of sticking with a traditional linear time frame after seeing a snippet of action we are then taken back to some minutes before the action began to view again the first scene in its entirety plus a little bit beyond. Then the process is repeated. Weird.

Midway through the movie JCVD launches into a long monologue about his failing career, talking directly at the camera while somehow perched way above the others. It is entirely out of place and has no connection with what is going on below. Weird.

for language and some violence.

AUSTRALIA

Drama, action\adventure

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
David Gulpilil: King George, an Aboriginal shaman
Brandon Walters: his 11-year-old grandson Nullah
Nicole Kidman: British aristocrat Lady Sarah Ashley
Hugh Jackman: The Drover
Bryan Brown: “King” Carney, wealthy cattle baron
Ben Mendelsohn: British army Captain Dutton
Jack Thompson: Kipling Flynn, accountant of Faraway Downs
David Wenham: Neil Fletcher, manager of Faraway Downs

REVIEW
“You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.”

The producers should have followed the advice of The Gambler sung by Kenny Rogers and rolled the end credits when the herd arrived in Darwin. But no they tacked on another movie about the World War II invasion of Australia and the result is an overblown film that goes on for 2 hours and 37 minutes.

So let me backtrack: the first half of the movie is a “Western” with the usual cast of a nasty cattle baron, an unyielding independent rancher, big cattle drive and a very predictable outcome. What with the decent acting and great camera work, in a generous mood it might get a 4 star rating.

But having to sit through another hour of very fake-looking battle scenes with a very predictable outcome results in one less star.

In a nutshell, it’s a good movie but not a great one.

CLASSIFICATION
for some violence, sexuality and brief strong language (very brief, just one f-word).

THE DUCHESS

Historical drama
Based on a true story

F.Y.I.
The "shot heard round the world" fired at Lexington, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775 began the war for American Independence and ended eight years later with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

The French Revolution began in 1789 and lasted 10 years during which time the French governmental structure moved from an absolute monarchy to one based on Enlightment principles of nationalism, citizenship and the inalienable rights of the individual.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Keira Knightley: 16-year-old Georgiana
Charlotte Rampling: her mother Lady Spencer
Ralph Fiennes: William Cavendish, the fifth Duke of Devonshire
Hayley Atwell: Lady Elizabeth 'Bess' Foster
Simon McBurney: Charles Fox, leader of the right-wing political Whig party
Dominic Cooper: his protégé Charles Grey

REVIEW
The Brits do it best: historical period drama with perfectly detailed costumes, lovely settings showing the countryside at its best and lush interiors. With some terrific performances and a true story of romance and infidelity we get an insight into 18th Century upper British society.

CLASSIFICATION
for sexual content, brief nudity and thematic material.

P.S.
Following his father’s elevation to the peerage as an Earl, Charles Grey assumed the title the 2nd Earl Grey. Later after becoming Prime Minister he received as a gift some tea flavoured with a citrus fruit from southern Italy. This blend of tea is now known simply as Earl Grey.

THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS

War drama

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Asa Butterfield: 8-year-old Bruno
Vera Farmiga: his mother
David Thewlis: his father, a high ranking Nazi
Amber Beattie: Bruno’s 12-year-old sister Gretel
Sheila Hancock: Bruno’s grandmother
Richard Johnson: his grandfather
Rupert Friend: Lieutenant Karl Kotler
David Hayman: Pavel, the house servant
Jack Scanlon: Shmuel, the boy in the striped pajamas

REVIEW
Seen from the perspective of a naive young boy, the Holocaust is a much different historical event. Once you get over the fact that they speak English rather than German, the story unfolds at a rather measured pace.

There are really good performances from both young lads and Bruno’s mother in particular. Beautiful cinematography and attention to detail add to the visual experience.

CLASSIFICATION
for mature thematic material.

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY

Comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Sally Hawkins: 30-something-year old Poppy
and others

REVIEW
We are introduced to fun lovin’ Poppy as she peddles her bike around London, carefree and smiling at everyone, stopping in a bookstore to cheer up the proprietor. You get it? She’s happy-go-lucky. Trouble is this whole episode comes across looking totally fake and foolish.

Then we are treated to the slurred blather of Poppy and her friends discussing the night before. I don’t think they’re working from a script, simply winging it. In any event when Poppy pulls out her falsies and waves them about I knew we were in for some more crude comedy that appeals to some.

But not to me so I left, sorry I had wasted 10 minutes sitting through that silliness.

CLASSIFICATION
for language.

BOLT

Animated cartoon

PRINCIPAL VOICES
John Travolta: Bolt, an abandoned puppy
Miley Cyrus: his new owner Penny
Lino DiSalvo: Vinnie, leader of the New York wise-guy pigeons
Todd Cummings: his buddy Joey
Tim Mertens : their friend Bobby
Susie Essman: Mittens, a real cool cat
Mark Walton: Rhino, the hamster
Malcolm McDowell: the evil Green-Eyed Man
Greg Germann: Penny's Agent

REVIEW
A combination of a well-written story about a dog and his travelling companions, superb CGI and great voice talent makes this a real winner. Some of the jokes are the “laugh-out-loud” sort plus there are many amusing moments. The realism and attention to detail is remarkable: the shimmering of the pigeon's neck feathers, his reflection in the glass door as the Animal Control Officer goes into the office, the little LCD on the agent's Bluetooth Handsfree headset blinking once in a while.

Particularly important for the wee ones with their short attention span, there is very little down time with the action pretty well non-stop. I don’t know if it will become a Disney Classic but it’s a charmer on its own.

CLASSIFICATION
for some mild action and peril.

P.S.
I saw 3D version. Someone who had not said it was worth the extra $3 admission price.

QUANTUM OF SOLACE

Action\adventure

F.Y.I.
Quantum (noun)
The smallest amount of something
In James Bond’s world, an organziation out to do evil

Solace, noun (pronouced soul-iss)
1. Comfort in sorrow, misfortune, or distress
2. A source of comfort or consolation
Example: his music was a solace to me during my illness

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Daniel Craig: James Bond, MI6 secret agent 007
Mathieu Amalric: Dominic Greene chairman of Greene Planet and a member of Quantum
Olga Kurylenko: his mistress Camille
Judi Dench: Bond’s boss M
Giancarlo Giannini: René Mathis, an old ally of Bond’s
Gemma Arterton: MI6 field Agent Fields
Jeffrey Wright: CIA agent Felix Leiter

REVIEW
Relying on fast paced chases (car, boat, plane and foot) rather than a well developed plot to move the story along, all I could do was go along for the ride. Knowing that whomever Bond is fighting with is one of the bad guys makes it a bit easier to sort out but time and again I was at a loss to know how he\she fit in the scheme of things.

Even the chase scenes are muddled: with such rapid cuts and changes in point of view you pretty well have to wait until it’s all over to decide how Bond made out (as if there is really any doubt?).

Using high tech rapid fire methods of detecting bad guys and following them around the world leads to a confused state of mind. A little explanation of what's going on once in a while would have helped immensely. BTW: I never did figure out how the movie title fits in with the rest of it.

CLASSIFICATION
for intense sequences of violence and action, and some sexual content.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
While pursuing Bond on his motorcycle in Haiti one of the local bad guys screeches to a halt when cross traffic impedes his progress. He immediately yells out “Get out of the way…move”. Being a French speaking country any native islander would not have spoken in English under those circumstances, much less used such polite invectives.