Movie #398........................"My Best Friend"

Movie #398 "My Best Friend" --- I liked this quiet movie a lot. Not a lot of action, but a French movie about a man who is all work, with no "best" friends. He's an auction dealer, and his assistant makes a bet on a beautiful antique that he can't come up with a "best" friend in a few days. Meanwhile, he strikes up the beginning of a friend relationship with a taxi driver who is a trivia expert -- I was a sucker for the Millionaire gameshow being used as the frame of "Slumdog Millionaire" and it is used in the ending of this film, and I found that enjoyable once again. A nicely written film, quiet and whimsical and I enjoyed it a lot. The main guy was the same guy I enjoyed watching in Cache with Binoche. I recommend this for a nice easy movie --- "Black Swan," which I saw again today, as the opposite type of watching.




You rated this movie: 4
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My Best Friend
Mon Meilleur Ami
(2007) PG-13
So single-minded is antiques dealer François Coste (Daniel Auteuil) that he's failed to make a single friend over the years -- a point his business partner (Julie Gayet) is willing to wager on. With a prized Greek vase at stake, Coste must find a best pal in 10 days or pay up. The arrogant Parisian turns to a gregarious, lowbrow taxi driver (Dany Boon) to teach him how to make friends in this buddy movie (without the buddy) from Patrice Leconte.
Genre: Foreign Comedies, France, French Language
Format: DVD and streaming (HD available

Movie #397 ........................."Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup"

Movie #397 "Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup" is typical of what documentaries have become --- everyone has an agenda, and this one is the "Investigation of the Truth" of 9/11 --- what really happened. I thought I knew, and I still do, according to what the disputers of this movie say on the internet. The film tries to stack the deck for us to think that our government had something to do with what happened on 9/11. Okay, I'm one of the first to admit that I hated every minute of the Bush years (counted down the days he remained in office, heck the minutes!) , and that he is, of all the presidents, yes even Nixon, my least favorite. But what this movie's underbelly suggests is really unthinkable to me. The film starts with Hitler, suggesting that his group (under the guise of rebels) might have staged a coup so that the government would welcome his party in the months to follow; then, the film suggests other such situations in world history; then, it goes to Roosevelt and tells us again that he had to have known about Pearl Harbor before it happened, etc. etc., it shows Kennedy's assasination (to suggest the government might have done that, too?) to Bush --------and they suggest that he knew it was going to happen? Well, Dylan, I think suggests that that is why the secret service did not rush him out of the school building on the fateful day of 9/11. REally? That's too hard to believe, but it did bring up a good question. Why did the Secret Service not move him out of the school he was in at 9 a.m., the time of the attacks? Why didn't they think that Bush was in danger? heck, that the school he was in was in danger? why were they so sure? Dylan is saying because he might have known beforehand (or someone else might have known) I thought maybe it could have been a way not to freak out the public or maybe it was a mistake on the secret service's part? But of course neither one was suggested, as we watch Bush calmly reading to little kids. Then, the film moves to the war games that were being played at the various installations in Washington, d.c. at the time of the calls on the World Trade Center that day --- so that it was confusing when the first call came in if it was a game being played or the real thing. Why did they pick that day to play those war games? I had never heard that one before. The whole Pentagon thing was discussed, and that seem really farfetched. This documenter Dylan Avery (who has few credentials, according to the internet) suggests that maybe it wasn't a boeing that ran into the pentagon (no film footage of it, no debris, etc.) and whatever was flown (a fighter plane?) had to have been flown well (the guy the commission said flew it couldn't even pass flight school) and the maneuvering of the plane would have taken special skill, plus where it hit the pentagon would give the least damage --- because the area was the only place in the pentagon where it was double insulated. That was weird to me ---- Not that it wasn't a boeing, because that seemed farfetched, but the fact that if it hit the pentagon anywhere else, there would have been many more lives taken that day. Then, the film moved to the plane in Pennsylvania and that seemed farfetched (again) to me --- I'm not sure his point there, but I think he was trying to tell us that there was no evidence at all of the plane or any debris at all. He kept comparing it to all the other planes that have ever gone down before --------but maybe that plane was aiming for the ground, and all the other planes have always had pilots that were trying to SAVE the plane. He didn't bring that point up. Anyway, then he goes to the towers, which bottom line, he suggests had explosives from the inside (the controlled demolition theory) --- what he uses for support? Well, not engineers (they say that the buildings COULD have collapsed straight down from the force of impact and fire.) His point is once again, it has never happened like this --- a building collapsing straight down in that quick amount of time, due to fire. He had two witnesses, one interviewed in the film, who said they HEARD explosions over and over in building 7 before they left it and it collapsed (at 5:20 that night --- I don't even remember hearing about that building collapsing) He showed the news footage where these people said it to newspeople, and then, what is really creepy, a few days before the commission concluded that there were no witnesses for the explosions, the one guy dies unexpectedly ----------just like in the movies. Avery never brought up what happened to the other witness. But it was a bit creepy how that guy disappeared. One more dispute is that of Stephen Jones, a physicist (he seemed to have creditable education) who studied debris from a woman's desk who lived across the street from the World Trade Center. He found stuff that would be found in a demolition explosion. It got really technical in that part of the film. And knowing that Engineers have no credence in this finding does not support Avery's axe that he is grinding here. I had heard about this movie --- it got around on the internet, and there were several editions of it (this is evidently the last one), and it seemed far fetched from the opening to the closing, but.............and that's the lingering but.............there are questions that remain, that the commission didn't cover. And I mentioned them above. It makes you think, and I definitely wanted to search the one guy who just turned up dead all of a sudden. That still creeps me out. The whole idea behind this movie creeped me out. The one thing I keep thinking about that was said in this movie (and I don't know if it's true, I should probably check find that, too) is that even vice president Truman didn't know about the Manhattan Project until he was president. Very scary. So if you like this kind of thing, here it is. If you'd rather not open up "that kettle of fish" then don't bother. If you wanted to know what all the hubub was about (like me), go to it. Now I know what the controlled demotion theory for 9/11 is. But I don't think I saw anything that changed my total way of thinking about 9/11. This guy puts Michael Moore to shame!





I gave it 3 stars.
Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup
(2009) NR
Informed by footage from Sept. 11, interviews with experts and new evidence, filmmaker Dylan Avery argues that the world hasn't heard the full truth behind the terrorist attacks and urges citizens to demand accountability from the U.S. government. In this provocative documentary, Avery also takes a sobering walk through other infamous historical events, such as the Vietnam War, and what role politicians have had in their creation.
Genre: Political Documentaries, Historical Documentaries, Indie Documentaries
This movie is: Controversial
Format: DVD

Movie #396 ........................."There Goes the Neighborhood"

Movie #396 "There Goes the Neighborhood" should be entitled, don't waste your time. Yes, there are a lot of comic actors in it, who usually turn in excellent performances, yes the idea sounded good (a heist picture about a doctor in a prison who is told where a buried treasure is, and the prisoners in the next cell find out, too, so it's every man for himself), and yes, it has a couple of funny moments (thanks mostly to Catherine O'Hara, Hector Elizondo and Chaz Palmentierri), but it's a don't bother --- we saw it and saved you the trouble. You're welcome.



2 stars
There Goes The Neighborhood
(1992) PG-13
An all-star cast heads this slapstick comedy that follows befuddled psychologist Willis Embry (Jeff Daniels), who learns from a dying prisoner where he hid his millions of dollars in stolen loot. Unknown to Willis, two scheming cons also hear the confession. Willis goes to the suburban New Jersey home of Jessie Lodge (Catherine O'Hara) to dig in her basement for the money, while the criminals, who get the wrong address, hold the neighbors hostage.
Genre: Dark Humor & Black Comedies, Heist Films
This movie is: Goofy, Quirky, Feel-good
Format: Streaming

Movie #395 ........................."The House Bunny"

Movie "395 "The House Bunny" --- I hadn't seen this film, and it was on t.v. last night, and I watched the ending and recognized Emma Stone (from "Easy A" with red hair), Colin Hanks (from "Orange County and he's Tom's son) and Anna Faris (whom I had seen in a stint on SNL and thought she was talented) and thought, I should watch this some time and then, as it so often happens on t.v., they show on encore of it! So I ended up watching it. I like romantic comedies, and although this is short on the romance, it still lingers in the background, and I'm not convinced that Colin and Anna would ever make past a third date, the film still had funny moments, esp. attributed to Anna and Emma Stone. The way the two of them play the lines, they have the belief that they are reciting Shakespeare --- and even though the main character probably never heard of Shakespeare, she still has a lot good going for her that is infectious, mostly the optimism. Which I know can get obnoxious after a while, but she breaks that stereotype of the dumb blonde and shows that even though she is far from book learned (that humor gets old, but luckily they don't depend on it) , there's a lot good in her. And I loved her passion! She always jumped into stuff body first! (and what a body!) The ring of girls includes the girl who played Nora in "Nick and Nora's infinite playlist" and Rumer Willis (Bruce and Demi's offspring) ---- the others are way over the top and don't probably need to be mentioned. So what it comes down to is that there is no new ground here, but because the film has some winning performers in it, it might be an interesting look see for you. But if you had the opportunity to see "Annie Hall," (or maybe even the first Legally Blond), I'd take that opportunity instead. But how can you not chuckle at some of the things that come out of the House Bunny's mouth: "The eyes are the nipples to the face." or "Kindness is just love with its workboots on" --- you have to give them a plus for some of the lines! Oh, P.S. I stopped when I was channel clicking because I thought the red-headed girl was Lindsay Lohan, and it turned out to be Emma Stone. Hmmmm. That should give incentive to Lohan to graduate from Rehab and go out and get back her acting career before a lookalike (who might be more comically talented) gets it instead of her!





I give it 2.6
The House Bunny
(2008) PG-13
When Playboy bunny Shelley Darlington (Anna Faris) gets evicted from the mansion, she's a woman without a country -- until she meets the sisters of Zeta Alpha Zeta, a sorority on the brink of losing its campus chapter. The Zetas need Shelley's makeover expertise so they can attract a new pledge class -- otherwise, their house goes to rivals Phi Iota Mu. But the Zetas have something Shelley needs, too: the confidence to be herself.
Genre: Comedy
This movie is: Goofy, Romantic, Feel-good
Format: DVD and Blu-ray

Movie #394 ........................."The Last Song"

Movie #394 "The Last Song" is, yes, presidctable. Wait, I predicted that SHE would sing the last song in the church at the end, and I was wrong -- it was an instrumental. Otherwise, pretty much from the trailer (and knowing someone will probably die or have a fatal disease since it is a Nicholas Sparks' novel), it was just a fill in the dots movie. That being said, how was the acting/tech end of it. I actually don't hate Miley Cyrus and think she is somewhat talented --- well, this movie made me not want to see her in another film. She makes the most horrid faces --- maybe it was the character she was playing, but there was anything likable about her, and I was surprised because she seems down to earth in interviews. What about the others? Well, I always like Greg Kinnear --- not enough of him in the film ---- the boyfriend and the brother were the best parts of the film. Seriously! So this is not a rousing round of excitement for this film. In fact, it's a don't bother --- unless you have nothing better to do. Oh, I did learn about sea turtles and that was good! and that it is PG --- that's another good part of the film.





You rated this movie: 2
The Last Song
(2010) PG
Miley Cyrus has top billing as 17-year-old Ronnie Miller, a rebellious former piano prodigy who doesn't hide her hostility after being sent off to spend the summer in Georgia with her estranged father (Greg Kinnear). Rebuffing her dad's attempts to reconnect, the aloof Ronnie begins to thaw when she meets beach volleyballer Will Blakelee (Liam Hemsworth). Kelly Preston also stars in this contemporary tearjerker based on the Nicholas Sparks novel.
Genre: Teen Dramas, Teen Romance, Tearjerkers
This movie is: Emotional, Sentimental, Romantic
Format: DVD, Blu-ray and streaming

Movie #393 ........................"Restrepo"

Movie #393 "Restrepo" is a military documentary, so let me start by saying this would not be one I would automatically watch being in one of my least favorite genres. That being said, it IS nominated for an academy award this year for best documetnary (up against the previous movie (#392) that I just reviewed, so I made myself sit down and stream it last night. This movie would be tough to take sitting in a movie theatre because of the tension, the REAL shooting, etc. I must say the filmmaker does a great job of not showing us any real death scenes (thank god), but the danger (and yes death) is there --- it pervades every scene and it is difficult to watch. I felt so torn in the whole movie --- I have read the books (and highly recommend) Greg Mortenson's "Three Cups of Tea" and "Stones into Schools" so I know a bit about the terrain in Afghanistan (and I watch the news daily), but I didn't know just how deadly the Korangel Valley (in the Kunar Province) (soldiers call it "Death Valley") was -- the photographer embeds in the 2nd platoon which decides to do something about the on and off again shooting by the Taliban in this area. Their goal is to put a stop to it once and for all -- but they learn it's not that easy because part of the problem is that some Afghani people take money from the Taliban to shoot at our soldiers ---- they get in the way of the fighting --- and as a result, losses occur to our soldiers plus the Afghani people (some innocent, some not) that could be prevented. We see several times our soldiers addressing the folk in the valley on what to do and not to do -----There's so much here that you would never see in a glossy hollywood war picture that makes the film good and in some ways hard to watch. The down time is full of nonessential pieces of dialogue that isn't good movie watching, yet you mustn't take your eyes off the screen because something harmful might happen to them next. I felt all kinds of turmoil while watching, and questions kept popping up in my head: what SHOULD we be doing to prevent our soldiers and the Afghani people from getting hurt? What allows me to watch this in the confines of my cozy living room while these men are putting themselves in so much harm's way? This should be required watching for everyone ---- or should it? How do they get up every morning and face this whole thing? Why do they? One gunner guy was saying that while he was growing up he could never EVER have a gun and that his parents took away a water gun because they found out it was called a "gun" -- and now he's doing this! Made me think twice about that situation. Another soldier likened this type of warfare (in this valley) to Vietnam (because of the sneaking up attacks, and buying off the local folk) that you don't know who the enemy is all the time. I found the movie very hard to watch, but very enlightening. And it's like no other war movie you've ever seen. Tough, Tough, Tough. And how does the academy compare it to the other films? That will be interesting come Oscar Night. You almost need to honor our soldiers' work in Afghanistan by honoring a filmmaker who tries to instruct his audience as to what is happening. Just a footnote that the movie and the base are named after a fallen soldier and he's the one you get to know through the other soldiers in the film. Restrepo. Remember the name. May he and the other 49 soldiers who have lost their lives there live in peace.



I rate it 3.6
Restrepo
(2010) R
Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm, teamed with photographer Tim Hetherington and spent a year embedded with the Second Platoon in Afghanistan, chronicling the hard work, fear and brotherhood that come with repelling a deadly enemy. Hunkered down with the soldiers in one of the region's most strategic valleys, the filmmakers uncover the dark humor, sleepless surreality and constant anxiety of war in this Oscar-nominated documentary.
Genre: Military Documentaries
This movie is: Violent, Emotional, Dark, Gritty, Suspenseful
Format: DVD, Blu-ray and streaming (HD available)

Movie #392 ........................."Exit Through the Gift Shop"

Movie #392 "Exit Through the Gift Shop" is rather an odd documentary. It starts out to be a documentary of street art , but then ends up to be about this would-be filmmaker who becomes a pop artist (maybe?) who might just be crazy. But that's the question throughout the whole film ---What is creativity? Is there insanity involved? Is there obsession? What makes something art? I found this very intriguing --- the film itself was a bit slow in the beginning and then at the halfway mark it seemed to take off and I finished watching the film with my mouth opened --- it's just that amazing! Really, can't fault the film except that the first 1/2 hour could be even more of a creative approach to get across the street art --- it seemed to be one-note, and the only interesting thing was watching the film guy nose his camera around the art work --- that's why in the street artist and the filmmaker change places, that's when the movie becomes exciting ---- at least to me. I recommend it, and It is a nominee in the documentary category for the academy awards this year. I only hope I can see the others, too, if there as good as this one!




You rated this movie: 3.8
Average of 325,319 ratings: 4.2 stars
Exit Through the Gift Shop
2010R 86 minutes
Amateur filmmaker Thierry Guetta's project to chronicle the underground world of street art takes a fascinating twist when he meets Banksy, an elusive British stencil artist, in this Oscar-nominated documentary. Unimpressed with Guetta's footage, Banksy takes over filmmaking duties while Guetta reinvents himself as a street artist and -- much to Banksy's surprise -- immediately becomes a darling of the Los Angeles art scene.

Cast:Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Thierry Guetta, Rhys Ifans, Space Invader, Jay Leno, Joshua Levine Director:Banksy Genres:Documentary, Indie Documentaries, Social & Cultural Documentaries, Art & Design, Painting, Miscellaneous Documentaries This movie is:Witty Format:DVD and streaming (HD available)