Of Elephants & Donkeys - The Ides of March

4 1/2 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

When it comes to political movies, I am not the greatest fan; but this one begins with the red and the whites, the primaries and the delegates - and manages to pull back the lining, and uncover a movie that seeps to the deepest of the human spirit. It goes from the public to the individual and how each of our dreams can create a monster inside that we never thought was there.

The title is a very interesting one, for it represents the 15th day of March in Roman history (and also in the film), when Brutus betrayed Caesar - and betrayal is a key component in this movie, but it also is a known ingredient in many political arena's. This is what makes The Ides of March so captivating (although this movie isn't for everyone), for it examines what it takes for any of us to reach a point where friends can become enemies.


The movie takes a while to gain momentum, as it delves into the life of Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling), a up-and-coming campaign manager, who we first see going over a  campaign speech meant for a Governor candidate soon-to-be-president Mike Morris (George Clooney), who is running up against Senator Pullman. The relationship between Stephen and Mike is one of mutual trust, as Stephen thinks that Mike will become a president who will finally stand by what he believes.

IDES on the prize

Oh the tangled web we weave in politics.


Steven works under the senior campaign manager, Paul Zara (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), who's strict views of loyalty determines many of his decisions. Pullman also has a senior campaign manager, in the name of Duffy (Paul Giamatti), and he wants to steal Steven away from the competition. All the while each one is being stalked by a roving reporter Ida (Marisa Tomei), who's loyalty seems to be to herself and who has the best story.


Many players, many situations - and all of them come to full momentum when Stephen meets an intern to his campaign; Molly (Evan Rachel Wood), who is no stranger in speaking her mind, and getting what she wants...even when the consequences of her actions eventually haunt her. This is a movie ripe with characters that are all out to prove something to others, as well as to themselves, so their overall motives for action can fluctuate like the wind.


The Ides of March is filled with low-level tension, and as the morals of each character begins to change, it slowly causes a domino effect on other characters involved. It moves from just a political movie to an emotional one. We will all begin to rethink the many political campaigns we all have been involved with as voters, and it will generate a dark cloud on this country as a whole.


The Ides of March manages to go beyond a race that actually deals with race. In this race the senator of each state holds the many votes (and voters) of that state, and there is a Senator Thompson (Jeffrey Wright), a black senator who both sides are trying to promise a higher office if he would just side with them. Although it is interesting to see a minority holding such power over two non-minorities (and the irony of it is hidden, for many minorities make it possible for the upper-class to have the power they have because of the work or favors that a minority can provide them), and how Thompson waits for these opposing characters duke it out - knowing that eventually they will come to him, is one that is kept at bay. This movie is run by human decisions, not human skin-shades. The only race really viewed in this movie, is the campaign kind.


Lastly, The Ides of March so that Human nature is after all the nature of a Human - and so we aren't really voting for a dream, we are voting for a man...and all his flaws.


...of which, this movie isn't one of them.

Hand Puppets - Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

4 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of SHADOWS brings an interesting element to the Sherlock Holmes series. This movie will be liked by some, and not-so-much by others, because Sherlock in this case is evolving into more of an action/hero than sleuth, and as action/hero's go: they are not for everyone. But the element here that is most appealing, is this time Sherlock has a worthy nemesis, that is both as cunning, and as smart as he (and in some cases - much more), and it not only keeps Sherlock on his toes, but it also checks his ego at the door.

Be warned: this movie takes some time in building momentum. This isn't to familiarize us with the characters, but this movie is more In Character with its Atmosphere than the previous one. The language, mannerisms, and styling is delved in the English culture, and if you have watched any British television shows such as Absolutely Fabulous, Dr. Who, or even Torchwood - you understand that there is more banter and a slower buildup of tension that we Americans can be used to. So my advice, is to wait it out for the first 15-20 minutes. This is a thinking man's movie, as is appropriate with a hero such as Sherlock Holmes at the helm.


Sherlock (Robert Downey Jr.), is investigating a series of crimes, and averts another one while tracking his love interest from the previous movie, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams). She is working for a man known as Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), a man that Holmes knows very well. As Holmes averts (but only for a moment) the death of Dr. Hoffmanstahl - whom Adler was delivering a dangerous package to - Holmes realizes that Moriarty may be behind the other crimes.


At the same instance, Dr. Watson (Jude Law), is about to be married, and elicits Holmes to be his Best Man, but Holmes has other interests as he invites Watson to an arranged stag party, where Holmes meets with a gypsy named Simza, whose brother may have a connection with Moriarty and his ultimate plans. There, he realizes Simza has been pegged for assassination herself, and saves her - and this action alerts Watson that this stag party will lead to more than just wine and women.


Now that Holmes is onto Moriarty, he confronts this man, who is just as smart as Holmes, and just as clever at deducing situation before they can happen. This was seen in the first movie when Holmes was able to determine the outcome of a fight before the fight has actually happened. Well Moriarty can do this too, and since he has the plan, Holmes has to not only know what he is up to, but figure out how he will carry it out, and who he will use to do it - all through deduction.


Guy Richie is once again the director of this film, and I have to say, the special effects in this movie blew me away. They were not filled with CGI, or wild explosions, or quick fight scenes where the action is blurred - although they are there - he handles this in a way that is eye-popping amazing. I will love to see the Blu-Ray on this just to witness how much of this was done (especially the forest scene, where bullets reign past our hero's, while they remain in slow-motion).


I loved the character of Moriarty, for he has a quiet horror about him, of which makes him into a most evil and cunning man who can kill without malise. He's the Darth Vadar of that time, barely lifting a finger, but shattering a world all the same. Holmes and Watson are once again a most amazing team, and I am always amused at their homo-erotic tendencies with each other. There's is a most unspoken love of friendship. Downey is in top-form, and you can see that he has honed this character and made him his own.


The mystery soon doesn't become a mystery, but it is not the solving of the mystery that frightens. It is the type of mystery or the plan that this man, Moriarty had in mind, and just how crass he is to the human race. Sometimes a crime is shown as too big and too shocking to believe that one man would be willing to follow it through.


Sherlock: Games is a movie that is very entertaining, and I think will be better played at home where you have the time to digest what is going on. It is fast moving once it begins, but may seem to dialogue-heavy for most. I found it quite a thrill...and quite elementary I must say.

The House That Jack Built - Dream House

1 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

WTF! of in the case of Dream House...WTH! How could a movie, with really the inner-workings of a great premise (one we have seen in other movies that have starred Demi Moore and Bruce Willis) - and with a great cast, have managed to have gone so the full 360-degree of wrong. If you drop the "D" in this title you would described just how I felt at the end of this horror/thriller/unexpected comedy of a movie.

Dream House, like many movies these days is told in a constant flashback/reality - and involves a story whose surprise moment is already exposed in the trailer. When a movies trailer gives up on the surprise, I already have buterflies that this-ain't-gone-be-good. I have to say, I was more angry at this movie than disappointed. It was like a cake that fell in the oven - still good on the inside, but a waste of butter and sugar.


The story begins with Will (Daniel Craig), who leaves his job in New York, to move with his wife Libby (Rachel Weisz), and their two girls, into a home in Connecticut - one of those homes where you know nothing normal can happen - so that he can work on his novel. And no soon as he moves in, does strange things start happening; Libby sees a stranger outside the window, footprints of the manly nature are in the snow, the neighborhood kids are holding a seance in the basement...and a longtime neighbor Ann (Naomi Watts), is hanging about, looking at Will strangely.

...I was wondering how this man was eating the imaginary food his illusion wife may have made for him? Or if they made love...well, let's not go there.

Home Is Where The Heart Is

This movie could have gone in a very good direction with a plot like this, and should have involved a bigger cast besides just one neighbor. How would the other neighbors feel seeing Will/Peter move back in the neighborhood? What was it like back at the hospital as he dealt with his families death? What about his wife's family? These answers are never explored, because the screenplay seems to want to get through the plot as fast as it can, and it turns into a thriller - asking the question: did Will/Peter actually kill his family?

Then it starts to fall apart like wet bread, and I was mystified at how trapped these great actors were in a script and direction that was trying to go in too many directions in too little time. The flashback of how the family died, was at once pitiful and laughable (the things Hollywood will do to keep a PG-13 rating). All of this leads to an ending that answers many of the movie's questions - but similar to an M. Night Shyamalan, the end isn't worth the two-hours leading up to it.

This movie might work for at-home viewing, with the knowledge that it is NOT to be take seriously...and hopefully if you fall asleep, YOUR Dreams, will be better than what Dream House delivers.

Eye For an Eye - Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

4 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

When it comes to twisting a fable children's story into something quite the opposite of cute and cuddle, there are few who can do it as well as Guillermo del Toro. Many are in the same category such as Tim Burton (Coroline, Corpse Bride). But even theirs are sweet and sugary to what Guillermo can achieve. His Pan's Labyrinth was an excellent example of how he involves children in what appears to be a fairy tale situation only to sprinkle it with an adult reality of moralities. Here, in Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, he implores the fable of the Tooth Fairy - who instead of collecting little children's fallen teeth and exchanges them for silver - he implores that the Tooth Fairy, like some otherworldly vampire, feeds on the teeth of little children, whether they have fallen out or not.

At the films beginning, we realize we have fallen down Alice's rabbit hole, when we witness a prologue that delivers us a "Once Upon a Time," start, when the great Lord Blackwood lost his child down an ash chute under a chimney, in a basement, at a huge manor called Blackwood Manor - to a creature that demanded children's teeth to live. Well Lord Blackwood having no other children to gain teeth from to which he can bargain with, and decided to use his own...


...then his maids.


The outcome was not pleasant, and Lord Blackwood vanished.


Now we return to the abandoned home whre a family with real estate in their blood, deem this home to be resealable for one of their clients. Had the couple read the brochure to Rhode Island, they would know hat any home that has more rooms than occupants living there, and stands 3-stories high, with a caretaker to boot, was only meant for trouble. But alas...they didn't.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

The family consists of a father, Alex (Guy Pierce), his girlfriend, Kim (Katie Holmes), and yes, a 10-year old named Sally (Bailee Madison) - teeth and all. Sally is already upset that her mother has put her in care of her sometimes caring, but really-has-no-clue-on-fathering father, an then to seem him with a new girlfriend who's desperately trying to bond with her. It's no wonder Sally gets bored with them all and decides, as young children will, to explore. As she does, she hers voices, soothing bur eerie, that understand her feelings. That there is a place for her. There is love, fun, other children to play with ...in the basement.


Soon Sally finds a tooth in this hidden basement, and Alex is upset at her for wandering alone. Kim tries to sympathise, but in the world of adults, little creatures and voices professed to be heard by a 10-year old, just can't be takes seriously.


The caretaker, Harris (Jack Thompson), bodes them to stay away from the basement, because of the strange disappearance of Lord Blackwood and his child, who was last seen there. If a caretaker tells me anything, you best believe I would listen...but this family is not me.


But Alex and Kim do something unique in this film - the act more like real adults than acting adults. They have relationship issues, thy have parenting issues, who cares about a basement and disappearing Lord's, when they are in debt and have a house to sell. Sally has only time to focus on her and her own life, as these creatures are clever enough to realize that Sally is onto them, and if they can't have the teeth alone, then they will just have to take her.

Peek-A-Boo...I See You

Don't be afraid of the Dark then moves quickly. We feel for Sally, but understand her parents as well. So Sally has to grow up fast. This performance also takes a good actress to pull it off, and Bailee along with the direction of Troy Nixey, is able to make this horrifying without it being frightening. You can see her thinking, and not only figuring out what the motives of the creatures are, but she understands that she is in this alone by being able to analyze the reactions of her caregivers. She realizes that they are in a whole different world than she is.


Guy Pierce and Katie Holmes go through a much slower arch, but its believable as they change from guardians to protectors. This is a great acting from them both, with an ending I was not quite expecting. I was also not quite expecting the level of violence in this film, but this is how Guillermo works. These creatures manage to remain hidden from he adults, even when Sally is in the same room. Like rodents, slipping in and out like a blur in your side-vision.


Don't be afraid of the Dark is a movie that is worth watching...even with the lights on.

Ka-Choo, Bless You - Contagion

3 1/2 Popcorn Kernels out of 5

See Trailer Here

There have been many disease-of-the-month movies, and many have just turned into Zombie-of-the-Month; but this one has focused entirely on the disease itself, the course it takes, and the people it touches (regardless of race or social status). Common cold, Ebola virus, STD, or The Kissing Disease; they all could have been the muse for this - because what is interesting is not the cure for the disease, but in this one, what is interesting is its birth.

When it comes to the diversity of this movie, it has to be applauded. This is an ensemble piece, and the greatest minority in this movie is the disease - which enters the picture on many levels; the first is with a cough.




Beth (Gwyneth Paltrow), returns from a businesses trip in Hong Kong with a cough, and then a fever, and becomes very sick within a 3day timescale. Her husband Mitch (Matt Damon), rushes her to the hospital where (as you see in the trailer), she dies. His troubles don't end there, but in the meantime, the doctors try to do an autopsy to find the cause of death. 


What they find is a mystery.


Contagion is not a thriller in the regular since of the word, it is more of a medical-thriller, where there are not spectacular special effects of Hollywood CGI illusions. For some, this may come across as a disappointment. If you find the History Channel intriguing, then this will appeal to you. The acting is great among the central characters, and the direction of Steven Soderbergh, keeps you interested (just as his movie Traffic had done). How society handles an unknown virus is quite interesting.

Origato Mr. Roboto

When Mitch's wife is examined and they discover a new and unknown virus in her system, the chain of discovery goes in the direction of CDC (at Homeland Security - it is amazing how threats on the human population have now involved every nature of human life, and for that matter, the involvement of Homeland Security in regarding everything as a weapon of mass destruction). We meet Dr. Ellis (Laurence Fishburne) who tries to understand the threat, and Dr. Erin (Kate Winslet) who works with understanding how the threat is spread. She has a difficult time getting a vaccination started and funded in time to have it not only produced, but distributed; oh, and to make sure that it works!


Meanwhile, the virus is spreading by the hundreds, with Mitch seeming to be immune, and having now to take care of a daughter on his own who he is not sure has inherited his immunity trait. The neighborhood is shared by a neurotic blogger Alan (Jude Law) who posts conspiracy theories about the political/pharmaceutics connections to this new disease. Then there are the scientist Dr. Ally (Jennifer Ehle) who must find a way to isolate the virus to create a vaccine - and in the end when too many failures reduces her funding, she decides to inoculate herself on the version she has more faith in.


We also have Dr. Leonora (Marion Cotillard) with the World Health Organization who is at work at trying to find where this disease originated. A disease that eventually has the population scared, the President in hiding, cities quarantined, and nations blaming nations.


The diversity in this film is refreshing, and the mesh of nationalities are neither stereotyped or exploited. In fact, they are interchangeable, and this is a good thing, for something like a disease that can be caught by a simple cough, it becomes a movie that we feel can not only happen, but one that can happen to any one of us. Each of the actors are at their best (with nods to Marion, Laurence, and Kate), with emotions that let us know that these characters are real people on the inside, with a life beyond what they do for a living.


In speaking about the diversity, what Marion's character goes through when she visits Hong Kong and a local village that wants the vaccine first - provokes anger and a realism about Power and Privilege. It is very accurate at how the world treats the poor and the minorities within its backyard.


Contagion could have been a made-for-cable movie if not for the star power that it employees. It's message is simple, and reflects all our lives, and its examination of society coming together against a common enemy is what is really contagious about contagion.

Painting By Numbers - In Time

3 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

Being a lover of science fiction, I was very intrigued at the premise behind In Time; although this is not a new premise, it is a new take on the dystopian science fiction thriller (where technology advances to such a degree that it controls our lives...literally. Can anyone say ATM!). But this take on an old theme, although freshly acted, is somewhat dimmed by a staggering screenplay.

That is not to say that In Time is not interesting, it is very interesting, and it is more of a action thriller than a Utopian one. But given that this feature is about time - it is not surprising that it takes on the action side of science fiction. Given the director Andrew Niccol (who also directed one of my favorites: Gattaga), I was assuming something else. But here, we are introduced to a society, where time is money...literally. Everyone is given 25 years to live - in that time - anything you earn that would usually pay in money, now pays in minutes to your life. So the rich can live forever, and the poor are struggling to buy time.You either add to your life or the government turns off your body clock and you die upon your 26th birthday. Of course - my biggest beef about science fiction features, is their lack of minorities in this future...but more on that later.

You Parked The Car WHERE?

In In Time we meet Will Salas (Justin Timberlake), who seemingly lives with his mother Rachel (who also looks 25), in the ghetto of the future...funny how it looks like the ghetto of today. He shares some if his time with his mother, who is approaching her 50th birthday, extending her life. There isn't much depth to their relationship, it serves as only a vehicle for the plot near the end of the movie. One day, while in a bar having drinks with his best friend Borel (Johnny Galecki of The Big Bang Theory), they see a guy, Henry (Alex Petttyfer) buying drinks for people in the bar (this obvious act eludes that he is wealthy). This attracts the attention of some thieves, who try to attack him - but Will intervenes and helps Henry to escape.


It is not until the next morning, after they have slept in an abandoned warehouse, that Will discovers that he has more than a Century of time displayed on his arm (this digital display is embedded in all the forearm of the citizens...no need to wear a watch), and when he looks outside the windows, he see that Henry is about to commit suicide bridge-style. The time he gifted to Will, was his Thank You. Henry had already lived 100 years, and was just tired...of living.


This act attracts attention of both the police and the previous attackers; one who wants to make sure Will didn't steal the time, and the other who want to take the time from Will. In the meantime, Will enters an interesting world of the rich, and this is where I thought In Time was fascinating. The dynamics of the wealthy, their use of time, the ways they can manipulate the very digital system that keeps the poor alive (seemingly just long enough so they have to labor a lot more just to survive; thus making the wealthy more wealthy...sound familiar?), was what I wanted more of from this movie. But in an action movie, the characters have to run through these dynamics without us really delving into them.

At The Tone...The Time Will Be...

Will eventually meets Sylvia (Amanda Seyfried), the daughter of a wealthy businessman, and kidnaps and holds her hostage in order to slow down both of the types that are trying to catch him. It is really their movie. Justin and Amanda have amazing chemistry, but because of their youth, they are only becoming aware of the way the government controls the world through time, so we never go more that skin deep into this society. We understand their different lifestyles, and each get a chance to see and feel how the other lives, but they are both still children who live at home with their parents, so their sacrifices in life are limited. I would have loved to have known about their parents struggles in getting to the point to even make the decision to HAVE children in such a society. Can you imagine the medical bills? What is the cost to your life just to have a child? Are there even doctors in such a society where the government gives you an automatic 25 years of life?  What about taking care of your child...what would be the cost of that? Adoption? Hacking the system? Bank accounts? Interest? Credit? These issues are never covered, but it would have made In Time a much more thought provoking experience.


And as for the minorities in this movie, which are not introduced at all. We see them in the poorest grottoes of the neighborhood, but they have no real presence. I understand that the movie is the point of view of just one part of society, but this movie seemed smarter than that. With such a division of classes, minorities would have been the logical subdivision that would also have made this movie a classic. Gattaca did the same thing in it's depiction of classes, and yes there was no minority presence in that one, but it did display a very emotional part of society, disabilities, and a minority class that went beyond skin color; and that made it shine; because there was a story-arch in the way rich and poor looked at each other, and they appreciated and understood the differences. 


In Time doesn't make that arch. We see the poor giving to the poor, and the rich feeling sorry for them, but there is never a great change in their morality. But we already live in a society like that - and this one is taken as pure entertainment, not as a lesson for life...and if you see this movie on that level, you will be on time to have a good time, no matter what the time of day you see In Time.

Driving Mr. Daisy - Drive

4 ouf of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

There are movies about an occupation - and there are movies about the lives that surround an occupation. Drive is like (and his is a compliment), a low-grade Quinten Tarintino movie, that he may have made his first year in college). It starts off in neutral, and takes you all the way to 3rd Gear.

Drive stars Ryan Gosling, as simply the Driver - who is a driver of many sorts: he works part time as a stunt driver for movies, he also works in his friend Shannon's (Bryan Cranston) garage fixing cars, he moonlights as a get-a-way driver-for-hire; where he helps criminals get from point A to point B after a heist.

His life is complicated, and gets even more so in two ways: Shannon has more schemes that Ron Popeil, and decides to ask his longtime friend Bernie (Alber Brooks in an amazing role) - a mob boss - for a loan to buy a Nascar racer (guess who he also sells on the idea of driving it). The Driver is always down for a few extra bucks, and accepts the idea.

Complication #2 arrives early in the movie, when Driver meets his neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan) at a grocery store, as her car has stalled there. He decides to DRIVE her home, and fix her car. Over time they bond (as well as her 5year old son), despite the fact that her jailed husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) is soon to be released. Upon release, they meet, and the hidden words they share at a dinner table with all of them present, is riveting. 

Standard however, is forced to go back into a crime pattern he had before his imprisonment, and needs a driver (guess who).

It's A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

I will stop there.

The plot, the characters, their occupations, begin to then unfold over on each other - then they soon all lead back to the Driver, and what he can eventually do for each of them...some things go right, but as it happens, things begin to go horribly wrong. 

And the Driver turns into something quite unexpected. 

Ryan Gosling proves his acting chops (once again) and his calm but deadly demeanor is reminiscent of the early days of Christian Slater or Antonio Banderas. I first saw Ryan in Blue Valentine (reviewed here), and I was taken aback. I also have to give kudos to Albert Brooks as Bernie, which is a character we sympathize with, but one who turns out not to be so nice. I always considered Ablert Brooks as a dad who speaks volumes of wisdom, but whose voice is so slow that you are forced into an act of immense patience just waiting for those words to come out. 

This film delves into the underbelly of Los Angeles, and it is filmed beautifully by Nicolas Winding Refn. The son and father Oscar Isaac, are the only minorities seen in this world, and it is okay - this movie is truly a one-man-show, and this type of underground seediness of mob-bosses, gangsters, and shysters is truly a world that has never really been one occupied by many people of color. Oscar has been in many films (Sucker Punch, The Nativity Story), and his Cuban background lends for him to infuse into roles that belie his heritage. Unfortunately, as with many minority roles, the weight of tragedy falls heavily on this character, and he relies on a non-white to rescue him (oh, the ways of Hollywood). But this film was never meant to be one that ends in a morality tale, for Ryans character himself is more of an anti-hero, and his only redeeming factor is that he is paid for what he does (but in Hollywood, the character that bonds with a child (or animal), are actually the hero's in the movie) and he is paid, in a sense, for his actions.

There is unexpected violence in this movie, and like a Cohen Brother's film, it is not overpowering, but it does move the story along, but shuts down any romantic/ nurturing plot set up in the beginning of the film. It turns from melodrama straight into an action/adventure and keeps that pace till the end. If the end could have been the middle, it would have been a much better film. But as it stands, it moves, and moves, and moves...and never never leaving you parked for long.