Some Summer Movie Reviews

Well, I've been using some of my credit card reward points to get free rentals from Blockbuster. Here're my opinions of the latest batch.

1. DEFIANCE - This is a Daniel Craig, Holocaust flick filmed in Europe. Craig is the leader of a group of Polish Jews who hide from the Nazis by fleeing into the forests, where they build camps and assemble a society of sorts. I've not been a big Craig fan, but this movie was simply awesome! There's romance, Jews, WWII, desperation, conflict, moral conundrums, war scenes, no sex, a little swearing, violence, etc. There's a moving scene where one of the Jews prays and asks God to "choose another people, and take back our righteousness." Wow. Great stuff. I totally lost sense of time and place watching this movie. The accents are convincing and the Polish and Russian dialogue are son convincing I thought I was really there. I give it 5/5 stars.

2. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON - The latest Brad Pitt flick; Pitt plays a man who was born the day WWI ended. A clock maker designs a giant clock for a new train station, but designs it to run backward. Benjamin Button is born on this day, and therefore, his aging process is reversed. He is born as a baby but one with a 90 year old man, organs failing, etc. and as he ages, he gradually grows younger - a fascinating premise. Although I don't always think much of Pitt's politics and social action agenda, I think he is a good actor. This movie is no exception. Again, I was totally lost watching this movie (a key element that I consider when evaluating a movie). It made me think about life, relationships, etc. I give it 4/5 stars.

3. CHANGLING - I wasn't expecting much from this Angelina Jolie movie, based on a true story of a kidnapping in California and the legal reforms it launched. There are some points of extreme stress, so be warned - it isn't always a pleasant thing to watch. But in any case, I enjoyed it. I give it 4/5 stars.

4. APPALOOSA - This western stars Ed Harris, Jeremy Irons, and Viggo Mortensen. Historically, I am not a fan of westerns, but as I grow older, something about them is beginning to appeal to me. Maybe its the guns...maybe its the women...maybe its that each man must prove himself in a one-on-one contest with either the bad guy or nature or himself. Oh well, in any case, I thought this was well done. It wasn't over-the-top, very subdued, minimalist. The rapport between Harris and Mortensen is great. I give it 4/5 stars.

5. JAMES BOND, QUANTUM OF SOLACE - Hmmm, James Bond movies haven't changed much since I first saw "The Man With the Golden Gun" as a zit-faced teenager, drooling over all the beautiful women. Something inside me knew that he was not living a godly life, but I still kinda' secretly wanted to be James Bond and receive the adulation and affection of women the world over. Like I said, not much has changed in these movies, although I have a clearer understanding now of what I sensed were problems with such a lifestyle. Not much else to say about the movie. I give it 3/5 stars.

6. POWDER BLUE - This is a rather odd little thing, kinda' like "Crash" without the accident. Four lives in particular are gradually weaved together. There's not much violence, a bit of language, but way too much skin. I suppose any movie with a "stripper" in it should be a red flag... The lovely and talented Jessica Biel plays the stripper with a comatose son in the hospital. Her life intersects with a socially awkward mortician, some kind of a gangster, and a priest who apparently got married then lost his wife in a car accident and has lost his will to live. I love movies about plain, simple people who reach points of desperation and have to make heart-wrenching decisions. Be warned: the skin is a bit much. I give it 3/5 stars.

7. GRAN TORINO - This movie blew me away! I love it, I love it! Clint Eastwood plays an aging Korean war vet who spent his adult life working the assembly line in the car factories of Detroit, MI. His wife has just died and his neighborhood has been gradually taken over by the Hmong people. The man is grumpy, bitter, racist and generally mad at the world. Through a variety of circumstances, he becomes entwined with the lives of his Hmong neighbors and befriends a teenage boy who is trying to be forcibly recruited by a local gang. There's no sex, little violence, but the language is so foul and bad it got funny. He keeps in his garage a 1972 vintage Gran Torino in mint condition. That car becomes a symbol not only of his life but of the country he served and loves so much - aging, out of date, and no longer the same. This is a great parable of how our nation has in some ways become better but in many ways has become more violent, coarser and less a land of opportunity. If you want a story of sacrifice, redemption, humor, and clashes of culture, this is for you. I give it 5/5 stars enthusiastically!

Well, that's all for now. A pretty good batch. Let me know what ya'll think.