THE PROPOSAL

Romantic comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Sandra Bullock: Editor-in-Chief Margaret Tate
Ryan Reynolds: her Administrative Assistant Andrew Paxton
Denis O'Hare: Mr. Gilbertson
Mary Steenburgen: Andrew’s mother Grace
Betty White: Andrew’s Grandma Annie (aka Gammy)
Craig T. Nelson: Andrew’s father Joe
Malin Akerman: Andrew’s ex girlfriend Gertrude
Oscar Nuñez: Ramone, a shopowner by day

REVIEW
To be honest with you, movies of this genre are not my thing: too often the romance is missing and the comedy non-existent. So I entered the theatre with certain, shall we say, lowered expectations. I left entirely pleased and thoroughly delighted with what I had just seen.

Although just about every romantic comedy cliché ever invented has been written into the script, there is enough of a twist to make it interesting. The acting is uniformly good, the laughs genuine and the “chemistry” between the two principals seems real enough. How refreshing.

CLASSIFICATION
for sexual content, nudity and language.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
Andrew says he planned on going to his Gammy’s 90th birthday party. That would mean she was born in 1919. Later Annie mentions that in 1929 she had the family heirloom gown altered for her own wedding. Somehow I doubt she got married when she was just 10 years old.

ANYTHING FOR HER

Crime thriller
In French with English subtitles
Original title: Pour Elle

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Vincent Lindon: High school teacher Julien
Diane Kruger: his wife Lisa
Lancelot Roch: their 5-year-old son Oscar
Liliane Rovère: Julien’s mother
Olivier Pemier: Julien’s father

REVIEW
Unlike so many films of this type, Julian’s plan is so well laid out that there is no confusion about what is going on. That does not mean to say everything is foreshadowed, just enough to keep us in the loop.

Another thing that differentiates this movie from so many others is the fact the twists and turns are plausible, even believable.

The last half hour is well done; the tension is almost palpable.

CLASSIFICATION
for brief violence.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
Julien breaks the rear light not the car’s headlight when backing out of the alley.

WHATEVER WORKS

Romantic comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Larry David: retired quantum physicist Boris Yellnikoff
Evan Rachel Wood: 20-something-year-old Southern belle Melody St. Ann Celestine
Patricia Clarkson: her mother Marietta
Henry Cavill: an upcoming actor Randy James
Ed Begley: Melody’s father John

REVIEW
You are going to have a wonderful time if you enjoy watching an ill-tempered, cynical, pessimistic, misanthropic, egotistical man strut his stuff. The rest of us should give it a pass.

Some of the things he says, makes me cringe: I do not find it funny when a self-grandizing narcissist demeans others. And that sort of behaviour is pervasive.

One other thing: although research has also shown that direct address has the potential to foster stronger bonds between viewers and the characters on screen I find it distracting, a reminder that what we are watching is not real, that it is all play acting.

CLASSIFICATION
for sexual situations including dialogue, brief nude images and thematic material.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
• While sitting with his buddies at an outdoor cafe the napkin in front of Boris’ buddy changes positions between different camera angles as does the spoon in front of their friend.
• When the lady is mouthing off at her child’s chess teacher she flubs her line; this is something that should have wound up on the cutting floor and replaced with a second take.

P.S.
Direct address: when one of the characters gazes directly into the camera and, in essence, speaks directly to the viewer.

THE TAKING THE PELHAM 123

Crime thriller

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Denzel Washington: MTA New York Transit subway dispatcher Walter Garber
John Travolta: Ryder, the leader of the gang
John Turturro: NYPD Lt. Camonetti
Luis Guzman: subway motorman Phil Ramos
James Gandolfini: mayor of New York

REVIEW
At the risk of giving away the plot let me just say this is a exciting crime thriller with great acting, superb camerawork and crisp editing to keep things moving along. And that they do, with gusto. Along the way, the tension mounts and the outcome is never a sure thing. Riveting stuff.

CLASSIFICATION
for violence and pervasive language. They got that right: seemingly bad guys must have a potty mouth with every third utterance being the f-word.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
1. There is no Line 6 Southbound train that leaves the Pelham Bay station at 1:23 PM; the closest would be the weekday departure at 1:24. But then the movie title wouldn’t have the same ring to it would it?
2. The time of the video of the subway car viewed from the front is 2:03 whereas from the rear it is 18:02.
3. The line symbol of the 6 train is a white six on a green background not a red 6 on a red background.
4. While talking to one of the passengers, Ryder’s watch is clearly visible and the time changes from 20 after the hour to 10 minutes to the hour.
5. The flight on Icelandair from JFK to Reykjavik takes 5 hours and 35 minutes, not 6 hours.

P.S.
In a bold and visionary move the New York Central Railroad spent an enormous sum to build the Grand Central Terminal and tracks below street grade. When the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was constructed some 20 years later it was directly over the northerly tracks and so a private railway siding was built beneath the hotel. Guests with private rail cars could then have them routed directly to the hotel platform instead of to Pennsylvania Station or Grand Central Station (as it is more commonly referred to). From there they could take a special elevator directly to their suites or to the lobby. President Franklin D Roosevelt among other notables frequently made use of this facility.

AWAY WE GO

Comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
John Krasinski: 34-year-old insurance salesman Burt Farlander
Maya Rudolph: his girlfriend Verona De Tessant, a medical illustrator
Catherine O’Hara: Burt’s mother Gloria
Jeff Daniels: Burt’s father Jerry
Allison Janney: Verona’s former boss Lily
Carmen Ejogo: Verona’s younger sister Grace
Maggie Gyllenhaal: Burt’s childhood friend university professor Ellen (aka LN)
Melanie Lynskey: Munch, an old friend from college
Chris Messina: her husband Tom
Paul Schneider: Burt’s brother Courtney

REVIEW
There are few opening scenes to match this one: the explicit depiction of cunninglingus. This sets the tone and might be enough for some to leave the theatre right there and then. I wish I had.

Ostensibly a road trip to find a place to bring up their soon-to-be-born baby, Burt and Verona meet up with the largest collection of people whose behaviour is either inappropriate or bizarre. Sometimes both. Either way it’s difficult to watch and not at all funny.

I left when I could take no more.

CLASSIFICATION
for language and some sexual content.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
• Bert is nursing his drink (one of those cocktails with an umbrella in it) and gets about half way through before leaving to take a call on his cellphone. With the change in camera angle looking back at his table, we can see that the drink had refilled itself and his glass once more is completely full.
• Upon their arrival in Montreal Bert and Verona take a taxi to their friends house. It’s black and orange; Montreal taxis are anything but.
• While driving down the street they pass several signs indicting parking restrictions which are entirely in English whereas in Monteal these would be in French.
• Remo’s Restaurant is located in Toronto, Ontario not in Montreal.

P.S.
I was sorely tempted to walk out earlier but I knew that Montreal was on their itinerary and was hoping I could pick up a few Nitpicks when they got there. As you can see my patience was rewarded.

IL DIVO

Drama
In Italian with English subtitles

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Toni Servillo: Italian parliamentarian Giulio Andreotti
Anna Bonaiuto: his wife Livia
and dozens of others but I don’t know who they are

REVIEW
Full disclosure: I did not research the subject material before seeing the movie. Consequently I got completely lost in the maze of unfamiliar events and personages. Even by paying close attention to the subtitles that remain on the screen only briefly, I was unable to truly appreciate what was going on except for three things:
• Servillo is one heckuva actor and his monologue halfway through is a dandy
• the music, an eclectic mix of classical and modern rhythm, fits beautifully with the screen action
• the cinemaphotography is first class

CLASSIFICATION
for disturbing images and explicit portrayals of violence.

P.S.
I read the following comment that might have helped had I known about this before going to see the movie:
“in the first half of the movie we see the events that took place in Italy during Andreotti's reign from his point of view: in the second half we see the same events again but more objectively”

THE BROTHERS BLOOM

Comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Mark Ruffalo: thirty-something Stephen Bloom (I think that’s his name)
Adrien Brody: Bloom, his younger brother (who has no first name?)
Rinko Kikuchi: Stephen's girlfriend Bang Bang
Rachel Weisz: wealthy heiress Penelope Stamp
Robbie Coltrane: Melville
Maximilian Schell: Diamond Dog

REVIEW
We get a premonition of things to come when as kids Stephen draws out on paper an elaborate, complicated, convoluted diagram of their next con. Yet even with the “one picture is worth a thousand words” it’s virtually impossible to keep track of what is going on.

And it doesn’t get any easier when they set about to do one last con job some 25 years later as adults. As expected with any caper movie things are not always what they seem . But the writer and \or director don’t know when to stop; just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, something else comes up. Constantly having the rug pulled out from under you soon becomes annoying. And it goes on far too long: almost two hours of non-stop twists and turns will test the patience of many.

CLASSIFICATION
for violence, some sensuality and brief strong language.