BOLT

I have to say, I haven't enjoyed an animated film like this since Monsters, Inc. The premise was inventive, the voice work (yes even Miley Cyrus) was done perfectly, the animation was well done, and the action moved at a good clip- not a boring moment. Animation has had some rough moments- CARS was almost disastrously boring- but BOLT is funny and witty and charming. I smiled throughout the film and laughed out loud many times. I may actually buy this DVD when it comes out so that I can watch it again and see if I missed anything. I'd say any adult with a sense of humor will love this movie. It's almost perfect. When BOLT realizes that he is really an actor, and is just a dog- well, it is priceless. The cats are wonderful- particularly the cat who is the foil to BOLT. The parody of the Hollywood film industry is sharp. Go see it.

Quantum of Solace

bang bang bang bang bang bang- WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR?-punch punch punch- I SAID WHO ARE YOU?- bang bang bang- BOND keeps killing people, find him- bang bang- owwwww that hurt- bang- runrunrunrunrrunrun- look into my steely blue eyes- kaboom bang run punch. There's the review. There is no finesse, and it's like following a confusing map that someone has spilled coffee on - you'll get there, but you wish the lines were clearer. I love the rugged Bond, but there has to be a story with some dialogue in this somewhere. Even Bourne has more personality than this. If Daniel Craig wasn't such a good looking guy in his rugged beat up way, this would have been just tedious mayhem.

Role Models

It's crude, it's vulgar, it's rrrr rated, it's sexist and it's very funny. There, I said it. I thought it was much funnier than Knocked Up (ugh), and much, much funnier than Superbad, and except for being much more vulgar, at least as funny as Forty Year old Virgin. I do wonder, however, how a child was allowed to act in this film. No kid under the age of 14 or 15 should be allowed to even SEE this. But the kid in this film- well, if that kid talked or acted like that in SCHOOL- CPS would take the child out of his home. That's how bad that is. It does have a message about love and acceptance- that messed up adults can be paired with messed up kids and they will see their commonalities. It's about two immature adult men who are paired with two kids as part of their community service- and they wind up learning to respect the kids as well as themselves. I found the writing to be very funny- but then, I saw several older people not laugh once. I'd recommend it wholeheartedly- but NOT for kids.

Rachel Getting Married

This is a movie that is so simple in plot, but so complicated in character that the viewer feels IN the film. Anne Hathaway finally has a role that requires her to act. And she acts incredibly well. The story is simple but complex-Hathaway is home from rehab (again) in time for her sister's wedding that takes place at the family home. Her parents are divorced. Her father is the ultimate peace at all cost sort of guy, and his second wife is benevolently tolerant and understanding. Her mother (played admirably by Debra Winger) is distant and no longer involved with her daughters- who feel the loss with confused sadness. This movie is not really about Hathaway's character- we, as an audience, KNOW who she is. We are exasperated with her behavior and want her to shape up. The movie is about the people AROUND Hathaway. The way her behavior, and other things I won't reveal, have affected their lives. I've always said that it is a shame that in schools, families, businesses, etc, it seems to be the poorly behaving or performing who get the attention, while the excellent are left to their own devices. This movie might make you wonder why that happens. Don't go to it expecting to have action- you will be part of a wedding, and it will be slow. But it is never dull. If you get bored, then you aren't watching the cast as they each tell the story of their character - beautifully.

RockNRolla

RockNRolla is the new Guy Ritchie (and soon to be the former Mr Madonna) movie. Fortunately, Madonna isn't IN it, so it doesn't suck. It goes back to the formulaic "give them a bunch of puzzle pieces, throw them on the rug, put out some clues and shoot a bunch of people before we put the puzzle back together" formula. It's not as smooth as "Lock, stock" or as witty as "Snatch", and it feels like a cousin of those tighter, more imaginative films. But that's what being in the same realm as Madonna will do to a creative man, I guess. Maybe he is back on path. Maybe not. But it's like Danielle Steel- either you like the formula or you don't. It's a good movie, well acted, but the predictability of it all makes it seem like Ritchie was a man learning to walk again. Hopefully, he will ditch the formula or at least make it better the next time. If you see it, be prepared to hide your eyes from some of the gore. It was good enough but disappointing in how it felt like Ritchie was just leaning back trying to finish it.