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*Roger Ebert refers to the movie’s mosaic style in his review. He says:

This mosaic storytelling style has been criticized in some quarters as obscuring facts (quick: how many times was she married?). But think of it this way: Since there are, in fact, no wedding scenes in the movie, isn't it more accurate to see husbands, lovers, friends, admirers, employees and everyone else as whirling around her small, still center? Nothing in her early life taught her to count on permanence or loyalty. What she counted on was singing, champagne, infatuation and morphine."

LADDER 49: What makes a firefighter rush into a burning building when everyone else is running out? Ladder 49 answers that question by showing us the life of one brave firefighter. It may be the most exciting movie ever made about the courageous people who risk their lives to put out fires. Joaquin Phoenix is Jack Morrison, a man who became a firefighter because he wanted to help people. When the movie begins, Morrison and his company are fighting a raging inferno in a 20 story building. He saves one man trapped on the 12^th floor, but then the floor under him gives way and he plunges down several stories. As we watch the Ladder 49 crew try to save Morrison, we see flashbacks of his life. We see him from his first day as a rookie and fighting his first fire and we understand his growing attachment to the men who fight fires alongside him. He and his Chief, played by John Travolta, form a special bond. We also see him meeting a girl (Jacinda Barrett), marrying her and baptizing their first child. We see his pain when a member of the company dies in a fire. We also see the adrenaline high that comes from having saved someone's life. The awesome power of fire is vividly portrayed. I don't know how they can film the fire scenes so realistically. Yes, there are melodramatic moments, but that's the nature of the job. Although some critics disagree, we thought the writer (Lewis Colick) and director (Jay Russell) never let the movie get maudlin. GRADE B+

LADYKILLERS: I don't think this is one of the Coen brothers' better films. A remake of a 1955 movie starring Alec Guiness, it is a crime caper movie, with a group of robbers pretending to be musicians. Roger Ebert referred to the criminals as "comic strip oddities," and I totally agree. It was impossible to see any one of them as a real person. The only real person in this film is Marva Munson, beautifully played by Irma P. Hall. Tom Hanks is Professor Goldthwait Higginson Dorr the leader of the gang. I didn't care much for the character he created. A bit overdone, I think. The gang plans to tunnel into the counting room of a riverboat casino, telling the Professor's landlady, Mrs. Munson, that they want to use her root cellar to practice their Renaissance music. It is mildly amusing at times, although when the principle joke in the film has to do with irritable bowel syndrome, I'd say the Coens were reaching too far. Perhaps the brothers are better when they do oiginal material. The film has been updated with a lot of totally unnecessary 4-letter-words, mostly from the mouth of Marlon Wayans. Gary thinks I'm being too hard on the movie. He enjoyed it more than I did and gives Ladykillers a B-. But I say C. GRADE B-/C

LANTANA: Lantana is a flowering plant native to Australia. The common variety has a variegated flower and is a pretty landscaping addition, but, if not carefully cultivated, it can grow into an almost impenetrable thicket. So it is with relationships: if not carefully cultivated, they can become an emotionally tangled mess. That's the symbolism in this excellent Australian import. We see the lives of several people become intertwined through coincidence, yet everything that happens seems perfectly possible. Never did we feel manipulated and we always felt totally engaged in the story. The script is beautifully written with dialogue that is never predictable. It reminded us a bit of last year's Magnolia but this film has a more linear plot line and some of the stories are resolved. And, there are no frogs falling from the sky. The movie begins with a body, but solving the crime is only the vehicle that demonstrates how these lives intersect. The cast is uniformly excellent: Anthony LaPaglia is Leon, a cop who loves his wife but has spent the night with Jane (Rachael Blake). Leon's unhappy wife, Sonja (Kerry Armstrong), has been seeing a therapist, Valarie (Barbara Hershey), and Geoffrey Rush plays Valerie's husband, John. All their stories are engrossing. We were particularly impressed with LaPaglia. Recently he has been doing a comedy role on TV's "Frazier." It's rare to see an actor who can be so effective in both comedy and drama. The film was written by Andrew Bovell based on his play, Speaking In Tongues. It was directed by Ray Lawrence. We hope you will all get the chance to see this outstanding film.
GRADE: A

THE LAST CASTLE: We both thought this movie was a real stinker! The only reason we are giving it a D instead of an F is because we hate to admit that we sat through two hours of an F movie. And we did stay through the whole thing in spite of a ridiculous predictable script and completely implausible effects. We stayed because there are three good actors and we did enjoy watching them. Robert Redford is Gen. Irwin, a three-star-general sent to a military prison for, as nearly as we could tell, failing to follow orders. James Gandolfini (The Sopranos) is Col. Winter, a soldier whose only battlefield has been the prison. Mark Ruffalo, so outstanding in last year's You Can Count On Me, is Yates, the prison bookie whom everyone takes for a snitch. All three make the very best out of this sub-standard material. The big question is, why would Redford do this film? How can he say a line like, "They can't take away our humanity," without gagging? Gandolfini gives a layered, creative performance, but he is still just a stereotypical villainous prison warden. I'm sure Ruffalo couldn't resist a movie with these stars, but I hope he exhibits better script judgement in the future. The film was directed by Rod Lurie, a former movie critic, who last year gave us The Contender, an admirable film. The film's running time is 120 minutes. GRADE: D

LAST HOLIDAY: This is a pleasant enough comedy, although not as good as Ebert and Roeper made it sound on their review show. It is actually a remake of a 1950 film starring Alec Guinness. Queen Latifah is Georgia Byrd. She works in the housewares department of a large store and dreams of being a gourmet cook. She also dreams about connecting with Sean (LL Cool J) a co-worker. However, she is too shy and afraid to do either. But, when she learns that she has only three weeks to live, she decides to live out some of her dreams, and finds a zest for life that she never knew she had. Gerard Depardieu is quite good as the French chef at a high-class hotel in the Czech Republic. Others appearing are Timothy Hutton, Michael Nouri, Giancarlo Esposito, Alicia Witt, and Jane Adams. They all do fine in their roles, but it is Queen Latifah who makes this predictable and hokey film worth seeing at all. We would probably have given the film a C grade were it not for her. Because she is so natural and appealing, we decided on a B-. GRADE B-

THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND: "Brilliant" seems too weak a word with which to praise Forest Whitaker’s portrayal of Idi Amin, but I can’t think of a stronger one, so "brilliant" will have to do. Word is that he will surely get a nomination for best supporting actor. I can’t imagine him not winning. Whitaker is such a consummate actor that no matter what part he plays you immediately accept him as that character. Amin’s reign over the country of Uganda from 1971 when he took power until 1976 when Palestinian highjackers landed an Israeli plane at the Entebbe airport is told from the viewpoint of a young Scottish doctor. (Perhaps that is the reason Whitaker is considered a supporting actor.) James McAvoy is Nicholas Garrigan, a recent medical school graduate who travels to Uganda in search of an adventure. A chance encounter with General Amin leads to Garrigan becoming Amin’s personal physician. Through Garrigan’s eyes we see the famous dictator’s charm and, ultimately, his savagery. Garrigan and the supporting cast are fine, but it is Whitaker who dominates every scene in which he appears. The gripping story and Whitaker’s powerful performance raises our grade to an A-. GRADE A-

THE LAST KISS: It’s difficult to make the decision to get married and start a family, especially if you’re a commitment-phobic 29-year-old male. Michael (Zach Braff) is just such a young man in this pleasant romantic comedy that explores the nature of relationships. He and his girl friend, Jenna, are expecting a baby, and when she suggests buying a house, he panics. And he strays. His friends also have relationship problems: an unhappy breakup, a troubled marriage, and the inability to commit to any lasting relationship. One friend is completely enamored of a hot girlfriend until she wants him to meet her parents. The problems these young people are having is contrasted with the rather troubled 30-year-marriage of Jenna’s parents, beautifully played by Blyth Danner and Tom Wilkinson. In fact, all the acting is above average. This film could have been stereotypical and banal, but the dialogue is smart enough to make it very real. Jacinda Barrett is appealing as Jenna, and Rachel Bilson (TV’s The OC) is adorable as the college girl who turns Michael’s head. Gary was not enthusiastic about going to this one, but he thought it was significantly better than he expected. He agrees with me on a grade of B. GRADE B

LAST ORDERS: If you enjoy superior acting in a film devoted to character development, then be sure to see this British import. Six of Britain's finest strut their stuff in this film based on the Booker Prize-winning novel by Graham Swift. Here's the setup: Just before Jack dies, he writes out his last orders: He asks that his ashes be scattered from the pier in Margate. Jack's wife, Amy, declines to do it, but his three friends, Vic, Lenny, and Ray, along with Jack's son, Vince, makes the trip. Along the way we learn much about Jack and Amy and how their friends were a part of their lives. I don't want to tell you anything about the story because that would deprive you of getting to know these people gradually. Jack is played by Michael Caine and Helen Mirren is Amy. Ray Winston (Sexy Beast) is Vince, and Tom Courtenay, David Hennings, and Bob Hoskins play the three friends. The only problem with this movie is all the characters speak with middle-class British accents. It is difficult, at times, to understand just what they are saying. In his review, Roger Ebert spoke to that issue. He wrote, "Some reviews have complained about the Cockney accents. All of these actors can speak the Queen's English if they choose to. The Cockney is their gift to us in creating the world of their characters. You may miss a word or two, but you hear the music." We think this one is special. GRADE: B+

THE LAST SAMURAI: This is an exciting and entertaining adventure in the grand epic tradition. It is about bravery, honor and family and both the acting and the photography are truly splendid. Entertainment Weekly referred to it as "Dances with Sushi," and there are elements of Kevin Costner's epic tale of a man who becomes friends with his enemies. Tom Cruise is Nathan Algren, an alcoholic and disillusioned veteran of the Indian Wars. He is tormented by his participation in the massacre of a peaceful Indian village. When he accepts a commission from the Emperor of Japan to train the Imperial troops, he goes as a mercenary only interested in the money he can earn. The troops are preparing to fight a group of rebels led by a legendary samurai, Katsumoto. Algren is captured in the first battle and spends an entire winter in Katsumoto's village. The experience completely changes his outlook on life. Ken Watanabe is awesome as Katsumoto. (I have read that the two men became fast friends on this film and are now working on another film together.) There are some stunning battle scenes and also some lovely quiet moments in the Samurai village. I couldn't help but compare the attitude of the Samurai with that of the WarLords in Afghanistan: For centuries they have protected their people and they are proud of their warrior tradition. It's enlightening to see this from their point of view. We both thought the film was A material, but Gary just can't bring himself to give an A to a film that glorifies bloody battles. He says A-. I don't usually care much for these battle epic either--especially when they are 150 minutes long--but this one made quite an impression on me, and I say A. The Last Samurai was directed by Edward Zeick. GRADE: A/A-

LEATHERHEADS: Barbara and I wanted to see this film because, in spite of many bad reviews, we just couldn’t believe that the director of Good Night and Good Luck (George Clooney) would direct a bad or even mediocre film. Sadly we were wrong. I liked the concept and the seeds of a good film were there, but in my humble opinion it needed a few more script rewrites and a much better film editor to make the seeds mature. The year is 1925 and professional football is struggling to get off the ground. Clooney is a great choice to play an aging, but charming football hero struggling to get his ragtag team into the public’s eye and heart. John Krasinski (TV’s The Office) is also a great choice to play a young college football All-American and widely known war hero. He is recruited to help put fans in the bleachers for professional football. Renee Zellweger adds another dimension playing a sharp tongued, snappy dressing His-Girl-Friday type reporter who is supposed to introduce suspense and sexiness into this period-piece screwball comedy. Great idea, but for me there were too many dull moments to give the film a high grade. GRADE C

(Barb's 2 cents: Loved Krasinski, didn’t care for Zellweger’s Rosalind Russell imitation, thought Clooney seemed distracted, and didn’t see much chemistry between C & Z.)

LEGALLY BLONDE: It's, like, totally superficial but it does have Reese Witherspoon so it's not, like, totally lame. It also has Luke Wilson, another actor we particularly like. (He and brother Owen Wilson wrote Rushmore and Bottle Rocket.) In addition, it features Holland Taylor as a law professor and Raquel Welch, looking fabulous, in a small role. This is a bit of summertime fluff that helps pass the time on a hot afternoon. Witherspoon is Elle Woods, a Valley Girl with a degree in Fashion Merchandising, who manages to get into Harvard Law School. She does it to win back the love of her boyfriend who dumped her because she wasn't "serious" enough. Not surprisingly, Elle proves to be unusually bright and intuitive. It has some smiles and a few laughs, but we can't go higher than a C on this one. (The grade would have been lower if not for Witherspoon.) We suggest that you rent another, much better, Witherspoon film--Election. GRADE: C
(NOTE: The dorky law student who becomes Elle's friend is played by Oz Perkins, the son of actor Tony Perkins.)

THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE: For pure enjoyment, we had to give this film a B. But you must know that we are both golf addicts. For those who have not fallen under the spell of golf, the film may seem slow and overly philosophical. Poor Will Smith doesn't have much to do except mouth one semi-profound statement after another. "Golf is not a game you win, ifs a game you play." "Every man has one true authentic swing inside him." Stuff like that. It does get a bit ridiculous after a while, even for a golfer. But the movie and the golf course look gorgeous, and Matt Damon looks rather good, too. Charlize Theron is totally at home in the period. Damon is Rannulph Junuh, the best golfer in Georgia before the First World War. Suffering from severe battle trauma, Junuh doesn't come home after the War. He disappears for ten years. He deserts his fianc6e Adele Invergordon (Theron) without a word. When he finally comes home to Savannah, he is pressured into playing an exhibition match with Walter Hagen and Bobby Jones. The problem is, Januh has lost his swing. It's a mysterious caddie named Bagger Vance (Will Smith) who helps him find it. The story is told through the eyes of a young boy who loves golf and idolizes Januh. It was nice to see Jack Lemmon playing the young boy as an old man. The actors playing Water Hagen and Bobby Jones were very well cast and they could hit a golf ball too. The biggest flaw in the film is that we never really get to know the people involved enough to identify with them. Redford likes to make sports movies where playing the sport is a metaphor for living your life. Remember The Natural? In Bagger Vance he has a sport that many don't understand or appreciate. Whats more, the climax of putting a ball in the hole doesn't quite compare in excitement with hitting a home run. But if you do like golf, you'll enjoy this movie. GRADE: B

THE LEGEND OF ZORRO: When we were kids, movies were almost always double features: a major movie combined with a "B" movie. The Legend of Zorro reminded us of those "B" movies, but with better production values. This film is a sequel to the 1998 movie, and once again stars Antonio Banderas as Zorro and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Elena. Here they have been married for 10 years and have a little boy, Joaquin, who seems to have inherited some of his father’s unique skills. The first movie was fun although we thought it was about 20 minutes too long. This 2005 version is at least 40 minutes too long! We thought it would never end. Some of the scenes involving Zorro’s horse were amusing. (One scene was a direct steal from the film Cat Ballou.) There was some beautiful scenery, Adrain Alozo made a cute Joaquin, , and there was an impressive explosion at the end, but we couldn’t recommend the film. Young children might enjoy it, although there is considerable violence. Our 14 year-old-grandson saw it with us and he thought it was "just OK." We didn’t think it was even that good. GRADE C

LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA: When I was a young man (admittedly a long time ago), it would have been unthinkable to make a film about Iwo Jima from the viewpoint of the "enemy." But times and attitudes change and apparently the world is ready for Eastwood’s bold film-making. Many critics rate this movie higher than his first film on Iwo Jima titled Flags of Our Fathers. In "Flags…" the Japanese are a faceless enemy firing from dug in tunnels in the mountainside. In "Letters…" the Americans are a faceless enemy mounting an overwhelming attack. From the Japanese perspective, the battle is un-winnable. It is a matter of holding the island as long as possible. Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai, Memoirs of a Geisha) is the best known actor in the film and may be nominated for an Academy Award. He is excellent in his role of the commanding officer charged with the impossible defense of Iwo Jima. Although we could not rate this war film as high as Flags, it is a powerful and unique film. GRADE B+

THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU: (2004) Gary: The first 20 minutes were excrutiatingly boring. I thought the movie would get better. I was wrong.

Barb: I can’t add anything to Gary’s comment. I, too, thought it was quite awful. I did chuckle twice, but they were both very small chuckles. The only actor who came off well was Cate Blanchett. Here’s a brief summary: With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner, oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife (Angelica Huston), a pregnant journalist (Cate Blanchett), and a man who may or may not be his son (Owen Wilson). It was written and directed by Wes Anderson, who has done some strange movies. His first, Bottle Rocket (1996) we rather enjoyed; his next, Rushmore (1998) showed promise. Then, in 2001 he gave us The Royal Tannenbaums which left us cold. Now this one. I guess we just don’t get him. Critics seem to like the film and so do some of the people who write personal reviews on Yahoo. We’ll be very interested in our readers’ comments on this one. GRADE D-

LIFE AS A HOUSE: This movie is unabashedly sentimental and wildly manipulative. It pulls every trick in the book to touch your emotions, and it is a credit to the actors that it does succeed in eliciting an emotional reaction. We both confess to being touched in the proper places, even though at the time we were pulling out the Kleenex, we resented being manipulated. Kevin Kline is George, a divorced father who is having a very bad year. He just lost his job and he is dying of cancer. His son, Sam (Hayden Christensen) is an angry alienated 16-year-old. Sam lives with his mother, (Kristin Scott Thomas), his stepfather and his two young half-brothers. George decides that he will spend his last few months building a house on the site of the ramshackle cottage he now inhabits, and he insists that his son help him with the building. You can probably guess the rest. The aforementioned shack is on a multi-million dollar lot overlooking the Pacific. We did enjoy the view, but not the script. I know people can change, but I don't think it ever happens as quickly as it does in this film. Kline comes off well in spite of the script and we liked Thomas more than we usually do. Christensen is particularly good as Sam and it is to his credit that he adds some believability to the character. We also like Mary Steenburgen and Jena Malone as George's neighbors. GRADE: C

LIFE, OR SOMETHING LIKE IT: I think the best word to describe this movie is "cute." Angelina Jolie is cute as Lanie Kerrigan, a very blonde Seattle TV reporter whose life, she believes, is "perfect." That is, until a street prophet (Tony Shalub) tells her that she is going to die in a week. Although the movie seems to deal with life and death issues, it handles the emotional elements in a rather superficial way. Some of the key events could never happen in real life. For example, Stockard Channing appears as a Barbara Walters type interviewer who breaks down in an interview with Lanie. After just one question. It would never, ever happen. What's more, there is nothing particularly creative in the interpersonal relationships, or in the story. We've seen most of it before--except for Jack, the street prophet, who is both interesting and funny. However, we did think Jolie was good in her first romantic comedy, and Ed Burns, who plays Pete, a cameraman with attitude, is perfectly suited to his role. GRADE: C+

LIONS FOR LAMBS: I believe most Republicans will either dislike or boycott this film. Teenagers will avoid it because the action scenes are too few and too static and it will not get the word-of-mouth hype that might keep it alive. The powerful cast of Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, and Tom Curise will draw a few million in box-office sales, but not nearly enough to make it a success by Hollywood standards. Barbara and I liked this admittedly talky drama, but not nearly as well as well as Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead, which will probably flounder at the box-office. The celebrity leads, as well as the supporting cast, are impressive and believable in their roles. Director Robert Redford moves the action between three stories. In one, he plays an earnest college professor trying to inject some intellectual fervor into a brilliant, but apathetic, student. In a second story, Cruise plays an articulate hawkish Republican senator who has granted a rare one-hour interview to a seasoned cable-news journalist (Streep). The third story follows two young soldiers who are injured in Afghanistan. This story has intertwining threads with the first two. Movie critics often flog moviemakers for not dealing with urgent contemporary themes, but when they do, usually flog them for telling us things we already know. As expected, critics are luke warm on this film, but I think it has enough going for it for a grade of B. GRADE B

LILO AND STITCH: In this animated feature Disney combines aliens, hula dancers, and Elvis Presley and makes it all work. The animation is the old-fashioned flat kind, and is the first film to use a watercolor background since Dumbo. Stitch is a creature that has been illegally engineered on a faraway planet. He has been designed for destruction, and the planet's ruling council banishes him to an uninhabited planet. But, he escapes and winds up on the Island of Kauai. There a little girl named Lilo, who thinks he is just a strange kind of puppy, adopts him from an aminal shelter. She names his Stitch and teaches him the Hawaiian concept of ohana, or family, which is summed up in the oft-repeated promise that "nobody gets left behind." Lilo, her older sister, Nani, and Stitch do become a family, but not without a good dose of mayhem. Ving Rhames gives voice to Cobra Bubbles, the strangest social worker you'll ever see. Mr. Bubbles is assigned to check up on the two sisters whose parents died in an automobile accident. A couple of comic aliens get involved: Jumba, the scientist who created Stitch, and Pleakley, a researcher who is an expert on the watery planet we call Earth. Ebert liked this one and said, "It keeps its edge and its comic zest all the way through, and although it arrives relatively unheralded, it's a jewel." I took grandson, Nathan, and he gives it an A-. I'd give it a solid B. GRADE: B

LITTLE CHILDREN: As we left the theater, Barbara and I agreed we had just seen an extraordinary film. It is a film that will garner high praise from most critics and independent film buffs, but will be seen by very few people. It is not a “feel good” movie unless your mood is elevated by a really well made movie regardless of content. Sometimes a film makes you want to read the book on which it is based. In this film the marriage of book and film is so intertwined that you leave the theater feeling that you have just read the book. The film is based on a novel written by Tom Perrotta and carries the same title. The story centers mainly on two families in a quiet Massachusetts suburb. Kate Winslet plays a bored stay-at-home mother trying to cope with a less than perfect marriage. Patrick Wilson plays a handsome, but pathetically immature stay-at-home father who is trying to cope with a less than perfect marriage. What starts as an innocent hug and a playground dare evolve into a riveting story involving a rich texture of characters and subplots. Jackie Earle Haley deserves special praise for his brilliant portrayal of a recently released sex offender. It isn’t easy to convincingly play a character with equal parts humanity and depravity. I prefer not to reveal more of the plot. It is sufficient to say that this powerful psychological drama is a fascinating cross between Desperate Housewives and In the Bedroom. Grade B+

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE: This is the story of an Alburqueque family determined to get their young daughter to the finals of a beauty pageant in California. It is laugh-out-loud funny yet it surprises you with some very touching moments. It is never predictable; always interesting. It is a terrific movie! Greg Kinnear (Richard) and Toni Collette (Sheryl) are the parents; Abigail Breslin (Olive) and Paul Dano (Dwayne) are their two children; Alan Arkin is the Grandpa; Steve Carell is Sheryl’s brother, Frank. They are the poster family for "dysfunctional." Dwayne has taken a vow of silence until he realizes his dream of becoming an Air Force pilot; Richard is an optimistic loser trying to market a lame self-help program; Sheryl is the harried bread-winner of the group; Grandpa has been kicked out of a retirement home for snorting heroin; and Frank has just been released from the hospital after a suicide attempt. The film puts forth their problems for your amusement, but it never makes fun of the people. This is an authentic family, and a stellar cast makes you care for each one. Newcomer Michael Arndt is credited with the writing and the husband and wife team of Johanthan Dayton and Valerie Faris directed. We hope you all get the chance to see this gem. GRADE A-

LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD: If you have a taste for some mindless violence mixed with cyber-terrorism and a dash of humor, than you’ll want to check out what John McClane is up to in this 4th version of the Die Hard series. Bruce Willis may have reached the ripe old age of 52, but he’s still "that man." No one can mix violence and humor better than he does. And Justin Long, playing a computer geek who unwittingly has aided the cyber-terrorist, is very good as Willis’s young sidekick. We also liked Mary Elizabeth Winstead as McClane’s feisty daughter. The movie’s special effects are terrific. There are a couple of spectacular explosions and a sequence with a fighter plane and McClane in an 18-Wheeler that is off the charts. McClane miraculously survives an untold number of calamities that would have killed anyone else. I think he may be a super hero in diguise as a mere mortal. Timothy Olyphant, the sheriff in TV’s Deadwood, makes a credible computer whiz turned terrorist, and the havoc he wrecks upon the country is frightening. What’s more, it seems almost plausidle. We learned two new phrases, "Fire Sale," and "E Bomb," but you’ll have to see the film to make sense of them. The critics grades range from A to C. Gary and I give it a B+. GRADE B+

THE LIVES OF OTHERS: This is a beautifully crafted movie. I can understand why it won the Oscar last year for Best Foreign Film. Although the film got off to a slow start, it didn’t take long for us to become totally engrossed in the story and the people. The film is set in East Germany in 1984 when the GDR (German Democratic Republic) had total control over the lives of its citizens. Their goal was to "know everything," and to that end, the government engaged in secret surveillance of anyone who didn’t toe the party line. Captain Gerd Wiesler is a a party loyalist who hopes to boost his career when he is given the job of collecting evidence against a playwright, Georg Dreyman. In science there is something called the "observer effect." It refers to changes that the act of observing will make on the phenomenon being observed. Here, the act of observing has an effect on the observer. The more Wiesler becomes immersed in the lives of Dreyman and his actress girlfriend, the more he himself changes. The actor playing Wiesler, Ulrich Mühe, is masterful at showing this change with very little dialogue and extremely subtle expressions. The playwright is portrayed by Sebastian Koch,* who so impressed us in Black Book, reviewed in last month’s issue. He has such a warm and charming persona that you are naturally drawn to him, even though in Black Book, he played a Nazi SS officer. He’s equally appealing here as a sympathetic character. Small wonder that he is one of Germany’s most acclaimed actors. We enthusiastically recommend this one. GRADE A-

LOCAL COLOR: Our local cinema mogul, Dan Harkins, saw this film at the Sedona Film Festival and liked it so much that he booked it into one of his theaters here in the Valley. He did the same thing in 2004 for What the #$*! Do We Know. That film ran for a year at his Tempe theater and went on to make over 10 million when a national release followed. George Gallo, writer-director of Local Color, hopes that kind of magic happens again. Local Color is set in 1974 and focuses on John Talis, a teenage boy who yearns to be a painter, and the Russian artist who becomes his mentor. The story is based on the experiences of Talia who is now a successful artist. The film is beautifully photographed—many of the scenes look like they should be hanging on a museum wall. However, there is a lot of "art" talk, which may not appeal to everyone, even though Armin Mueller-Stahl, who plays the Russian artist, Nicoli Seroff, is able to make the talk interesting. Mueller-Stahl creates an eccentric yet believable character and is the best reason to see the film. Trevor Morgan is good as the earnest young would-be artist. Ray Liotta, who plays Talia’s father, is hampered by having to play a stereotypical philistine who would prefer that his son play sports and chase girls instead of spending his time at an easel. Seroff was a representational* artist, and his kind of painting is dismissed by the modern art world as sentimental and old-fashioned. There is much discussion in the film of the value of sentiment and beauty versus the pretensions of modern art. In one scene Seroff judges a local art competition. It is amusing to hear the artists try to justify their creations as works of art, especially one artist who displayed a large canvass filled with nothing but black paint. We enjoyed the film but are not sure it will attain the success of What the #$*! Do We Know. GRADE B

*The word "representational" describes a work of art that depicts something easily recognized by most people.

THE LONGEST YARD: Many of you will remember the 1974 film by the same title staring Burt Reynolds. It was about a former pro football quarterback, now a prison inmate, who organizes his fellow convicts into a football team to play against the prison guards. Adam Sandler plays the role that Burt Reynolds played in the 1974 film, and Burt appears in a supporting role. Our local reviewer astutely observes that The Longest Yard (2005 version) drops the ball on originality which sounds humorously obvious, but I confess I found myself comparing this version with my memory of the first. The newer film pushes for more comedy and the talent of Chris Rock helps that along. Adam Sandler is good, but not great. And I’m afraid I have to say the same for the film. Grade C+ for me, but Barbara has the last word.

From Barb: I can’t go higher than a C. I definitely agree that the first one was the better movie. The actor who played Caretaker in that one was named James Hampton. While he was nowhere near as funny as Chris Rock, he was such a sympathetic character that you felt his death deeply. Plus, they changed one of the film’s funniest lines, perhaps to obtain a PG13 rating. The 1974 film—which had an R rating--is ranked #10 on ESPN’s list of the 20 Best Sports Movies of All Time.

LOOK AT ME: It’s tough to be an overweight young woman whose very young stepmother is beautifully slender. And whose 5 year-old stepsister is adorable. It is particularly difficult when your father is a monumentally self-obsessed, egotistical jerk. Lolita yearns for her father’s love and attention but he can’t see beyond his own needs and self-interest. When Lolita, who is studying voice, gives her father a tape of her lessons, he never even has time to listen to it. Thoroughly lacking self confidence, she assumes that no one likes her for herself, but only for her connection to her father, a famous author. The French title translates to "Like a Picture," but I prefer the American title. It reminds me of how young children, when playing, call out to their parents, "Look at me, mommy. Look at me, daddy." Lolita has been doing that all her life, but her father never has time to look. This French film doesn’t offer any solutions to Lolita’s problem, and there is no happy Hollywood ending. However, by the end of the story, Lolita has leaned a few things about herself and there is a glimmer of hope that she will handle things better in the future. Along the way, we get some good character development and some fine acting by one and all. The film is in French with subtitles. My grade is B, but Gary says B-. GRADEB/B-

THE LOOKOUT: This film is so unique that it’s impossible to classify. It’s part a taut bank-heist thriller and part a subtle sensitive portrait of a young man trying to find his way after a horrific accident that left him badly damaged. The writing, acting and filming are all outstanding. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is wonderful as Chris Pratt, a former high school hockey star who was responsible for the accident that killed two of his friends, badly injured his girlfriend, and left him with a serious head injury. Because of one reckless moment he has gone from being one of the most popular boys in his school to being a nobody who works as a night janitor in a local bank. As we meet Chris, he is dealing with both physical and psychological problems. His rehabilitation therapist has placed him in an apartment with Lewis, a bearded, blind, guitar-playing mentor. Jeff Daniels takes what could have been a trite role and makes it vital and interesting. He also provides some needed lightness in this bleak tale. When Chris makes some new friends he begins to feel better about himself, but he soon learns that their friendship has a price. Matthew Goode is worthy of mention as one of the false friends, and Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers) is appealing as a young woman who professes admiration for Chris. Scott Franks both wrote and directed the film. It is his first directorial effort and he demonstrates a sure hand behind the camera. I liked the way he mirrored the bleakness of Chris‘s life with the bleakness of the winter Kansas landscape. Although it is the first time Scott has directed, he does have impressive credits as a writer, most notably in Little Man Tate, Get Shorty and Out of Sight. We both think this film deserves an A-. GRADE A-

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING : If you are a fan of Tolkien's books, you will probably give this movie a B. Roger Ebert, a great fan of the books, didn't like the way the emphasis in the movie was changed from the Hobbits to powerful men and wizards. He also thought the filmmakers created an "overwrought special-effects action picture." He felt that the movie does transcend that genre and is a "well crafted and sometimes stirring" adventure, but that it is not a "true visualization of Tolkien's Middle-earth." If you are a fan of special-effects action pictures, you will probably give this movie an A. Nathan, our 11-year-old grandson thought it deserved a grade "between and A and an A+." (He wouldn't give it an A+--he reserved that grade for HARRY POTTER.) Nathan thought the movie seemed much shorter than its 178 minute running time. If, like us, you don't favor overwrought special effects movies that center on mysticism and wizardry, then you will probably think this is a C+ movie. As we did. However, all of the special effects were quite amazing and I know the visual effects will stay with me for a long time. I though the sequence in the kingdom of the dwarfs was especially exciting. But, it is a very long movie and couldn't keep our attention all of the time. The actors acquitted themselves admirably and we especially liked Ian McKellen as Gandalf, ElijahWood as Frodo Baggins, and Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn. Also, Liv Tyler and Cate Blanchett as elves were very appealing. GRADE: C+/B/A

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING: The final battle scene in this last of the rings trilogy is so magnificent that I hope no one else ever makes another science fiction battle movie. But, I suspect someone will. I enjoyed this film more than I did the first two, although this is definitely not my favorite genre. I can, however, admire the awe-inspiring achievement of Peter Jackson and his crew of artists. It is impossible for realistic sets to compete with these computer-generated fantasies. I loved the villainy of the evil Golluum, the bravery of the valiant Aragorn, the wisdom and leadership of Ian McKellen--looking very spry for his age--and the beauty of both Liv Tyler and Orlando Bloom. The Hobbits are cute, and the Orks are ugly--really, really ugly! I question the Orks' wisdom in using those huge elephants to carry their warriors, though. When an elephant goes down, so do all the warriors carried on its back. Risky business. And I thought they'd never throw that damn ring into the fiery crater. The actual film runs for 3 hours and 15 minutes, but I must confess that I had no trouble sitting through it. I even confess to some sniffles at the end. Gary sat with me, but he did have trouble sitting through it. At a point about 45 minutes before the end, after the ring had been returned to Mount Doom, Frodo said, "It will end now." I heard Gary murmur, "God, I hope so!" I have to give this one a B for my enjoyment and an A for the skillfulness of the filmmaking. Gary declines to give it a grade. GRADE B

I agree with this comment from Roger Ebert. Athough he admires the film's technical achievements, he said in his review: The story is just a little too silly to carry the emotional weight of a masterpiece. It is a melancholy fact that while the visionaries of a generation ago, like Coppola with "Apocalypse Now," tried frankly to make films of great consequence, an equally ambitious director like Peter Jackson is aiming more for popular success. The epic fantasy has displaced real contemporary concerns, and audiences are much more interested in Middle Earth than in the world they inhabit.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS: I took grandson, Nathan, to this movie. He thought it was "really good." I thought it was "really long." Yes, the special effects are awesome, but almost all of them have to do with violence, war, and hacking, beheading and killing. Three hours of it! Because I've never read the books, I can't keep all the different groups straight. I also have trouble with the names, so I'm never sure who people are talking about. And everyone is so very dirty! I wanted to throw all of them in a bathtub. It is quite a sight to see the legions of Uruk-hai march to the climactic battle at Helm's Deep. They apparently were formed from mud and they look it--hideous creatures with the worst teeth you ever saw. I did admire the creativity of a computer-generated image named the Gollum. He has a split personality and can't decide whether he wants to help the Hobbit, Frodo, or kill him and steal the ring. Also, the opening sequence showing Gandalf's battle with Balrog, the monster made of fire and smoke, is quite impressive. There is no doubt that this film is a directing feat of monumental proportions. It's just not my cup of tea. Nathan would give it an A. I wouldn't.
GRADE: C+

LORD OF WAR: It’s difficult to get emotionally involved in a movie that has an unscrupulous arms dealer as it’s central character. As charming as Nick Cage can be, his Yuri Orlov is about as low as they come. He deals with anyone who can pay his price, even when he knows the weapons will be used to slaughter innocent people. Jared Leto is Yuri’s troubled brother, Bridget Monahan is his wife, and Ethan Hawke is the AFT agent who has vowed to put Yuri in jail. Eamonn Walker is very effective as the evil Liberian dictator Baptiste. I guess this is a well-made film, but it is oddly dispassionate, even cold. Gary suspects that was the filmmaker’s intent, since gun-running is a cold and dispassionate business. The ending left us depressed about the state of the world. Roger Ebert calls the film a "bleak comedy:" We didn’t find much to laugh about. One of the user reviews on the Yahoo movie site called the film "a liberal left-wing piece of crap!" Another user said "This movie can change the world." We don’t agree with either one of them, but are not surprised that opinions on this film are wildly disparate. We’ll be interested in what our Readers think of this one. GRADE C

LOST IN LA MANCHA: After seeing this documentary one wonders how any movie ever makes it from idea to screen. This story of director Terry Gilliam's attempt to film a version of Don Quixote could be a primer on how to fail at moviemaking. Gilliam, director of such films as Brazil, 12 Monkeys, and The Fisher King, has developed a script for the project that features Johnny Depp as a modern-day hero who is transported back in time and finds himself acting as Sancho Panza to Don Quixote. He calls the film, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Orson Wells had a similar dream to make a movie of the Cervantes novel. He spent twenty years working on it but never put anything on film. Gilliam muses early in this film that perhaps there is some sort of curse working here. It turns out to be a prophetic comment. Everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. F16's scream across the sky ruining dialogue scenes, torrential rain makes a swamp out of the location, and the working budget is, according to Gilliam "far below what a film like this would usually cost." Worst of all, Jean Rochefort, a famous French actor who has spent seven months learning English in order to star in the film, falls ill. Eventually, the insurance company takes over rights to the film and everyone packs up and goes home. Some of the things that happen seem funny as you watch the film, but I don't think anything was funny to those involved. At last report, Gilliam is trying to buy back the rights to the film from the Insurance Company, so that he can try again. We wish him luck. GRADE: B.

LOST IN TRANSLATION: In the early Eighties I taught a corporate training course for McGraw-Hill. The course ran for a week, but only met for two hours each morning. When teaching out of town, I was faced with many empty afternoons and evenings, but at least I was in places where English was spoken. Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is in Tokyo to shoot a whiskey commercial, and his feelings of loneliness and isolation are intensified by not being able to speak the language. Harris is an aging movie star whose career and marriage are floundering. He isn't pleased about being reduced to acting in a TV commercial, but he does it with good grace. Suffering from jet lag, he spends most nights in the Hotel bar, and one night he meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson). Newly married, she is there with her husband (Giovanni Ribisi) who is a professional photographer working with a rock band. He is consumed with his work and Charlotte is left to her own devices. The twenty-something woman and the fifty-something man become friends, and it is a lovely thing to watch this friendship develop. They share their deepest feelings--something that's easiest to do with a stranger over a couple of drinks. Murray demonstrates what an accomplished actor he is. The New York Times reviewer said, Here he supplies the kind of performance that seems so fully realized and effortless that it can easily be mistaken for not acting at all. Johansson, so good in Ghost World and The Man Who Wasn't There, demonstrates an understated acting style that works well with Murray's performance. Director/writer Sofia Coppola uses strong visual images to make Bob and Charlotte's loneliness real and touching. At the end of the movie, Bob and Charlotte still have problems, but they feel better for having met each other and we feel better for having seen the movie. GRADE: B+.

LOVE ACTUALLY: This is a Christmas present of a movie and, like all presents, you'll really want to open it yourself. I won't begin to talk about the eight or so story lines that are woven together beautifully or the inspired performances from everyone involved. I must, however, comment on how charming Hugh Grant is as the British Prime Minister, and how endearing Colin Firth is, and how nice it is to see Emma Thompson again. But, most of all, I have to rave about Bill Nighy (I Capture The Castle) who is hilarious as Billy Mack, the aging rock star who hopes for a #1 Christmas song. Entertainment Weekly called this film this season's "most populous romantic comedy." And it is. Also appearing are Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Keira Knightley (Bend It Like Beckham), Alan Rickman, Roawan Atkinson and, believe it or not, Billy Bob Thornton as the President of the United States. Love Actually is actually delightful. We highly recommend it. GRADE: A

LOVELY AND AMAZING: This independent film chronicles the lives of a mother (Brenda Blethyn) and her three daughters. Two adult daughters are her natural children and the third daughter is adopted, preteen, and black. Roger Ebert, who liked this film, said that it celebrates "the lives of these imperfect women, and the joy of their imperfections." They are definitely imperfect. All of the women are struggling to find their places in the world. One of the adult daughters (Michelle played by Catherine Keener) has failed in nearly everything she has undertaken. Another adult daughter (Elizabeth played by Emily Mortimer) is an actress who recently got a small part in a movie, but still is wildly insecure about her body and her talents. The young adopted daughter struggles with being black in a white family. The mother undergoes what proves to be dangerous cosmetic surgery in the unrealistic belief that her doctor will then be attracted to her. The family is a mess, but a likeable mess. Nicole Holofcener, who both wrote and directed the film, has made her characters funny, interesting and vulnerable. We enjoyed watching them stumble through their lives. The acting is uniformly excellent and we recommend this one. GRADE: B+

LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN: There’s a whole lot of killin’ going on in this one. The film is a crime-mystery with opposing hoodlum bosses, assorted thugs, a beautiful neighbor, a confused guy from out of town, a steely assassin and a cop. It’s almost impossible to figure out exactly what is going on in this film, although you’re certain that you can’t take it at face value. The wrap-up at the end is rather clever, but it’s doubtful that many will want to wait through all the gratuitous mayhem to get there. We also thought the stylized dialogue between the thugs wore a bit thin. Apparently the writers were trying for some Pulp Fiction-type chatter, but I’m afraid they fell short. While waiting to figure it out, you will be treated to some fine performances from Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Bruce Willis, Stanley Tucci and others. Robert Forster even makes a brief appearance. The Slevin of the title is played by Josh Hartnett. We haven’t much cared for him in previous films, but thought he was quite good here. The actors may be worth the price of admission for some. Roger Ebert gave the film thumbs down because he felt the trickery was too flagrant and the payoff too slim, but Roeper liked the film and gave it thumbs up. Other critics have called it "whip-smart," "high octane slop," "enjoyable" and "too clever for its own good." Because of the impressive cast, we decided on a B-. GRADE B-

LUCKY YOU: Whether you like this movie or not will depend on whether you play poker. Anyone who plays Hold’em, or who watches it on TV, will like that fact that in this film, they got the poker right. Probably because poker great Doyle Brunson was a consultant on the film. Both Gary and I enjoy playing and watching the game, so we liked the film. The fact that one scene takes place on a golf course was an added bonus. Poker and golf! It doesn’t get much better than that for us. But, to a non-poker-player, the Hold’em scenes will, I suspect, be boring. Eric Bana is Huck, a man who plays poker for a living. Reckless at the table, he wins and loses a lot of money. At present, his house is completely empty of furniture, but since he really lives in Casino poker rooms, it doesn’t much matter. Huck spends most of the film trying to get his hands on the $10,000 entry fee into the World Series of Poker. The always special Robert Duvall is Huck’s father, a world famous poker player who taught his son the game at their kitchen table. As you might expect, father and son are now estranged. (I never said the story wasn’t predictable.) Drew Barrymore is the girl who makes an impression on the charming but commitment-phobic Huck. (I know, predictable.) If you watch TV poker, you’ll recognize some of the players. The film was directed by Curtis Hanson who gave us L.A. Confidential and Wonder Boys. The strengths of the movie are Bana, Duvall, and getting the poker right. We give this film a B, but realize that for non players, it’s more of a C movie. GRADE B/C