Avatar Review

Avatar: James Cameron's long-awaited Sci-Fi epic comes close to getting a prefect grade, but falls one Na'Vi short. The movie is spectacular on screen, like nothing I have seen before. In fact, Avatar leap frogs past the current state of filmmaking. The first 90 minutes of the film explores the moon of Pandora with our hero Jake Sully, this alone was worth the price of admission. Where the movie comes up a tad short is the story. This is not to say that it is bad, more that it is not that original of a theme. The final twenty minutes depicts a battle on screen that really has to be seen to be believed. The blue natives fly on dragons battling military planes, while on the ground robot enhanced soldiers take on exotic alien creatures. I watched the movie on IMAX in 3-D. The 3-D effect is subtle, not used as a gimmick. It actually lets you get more immersed in one of the most creative worlds ever seen in movies. The bigger the screen you see this on the better, so don't wait until it is available to download on your iPhone. Get out and explore Pandora the way it was meant to be seen because it is Big, Bright, and Beautiful! Thanks James.

Rythemovieguy's Rating: A-

If this movie had parents they would be: Dances with Wolves & The Matrix

With a run time of 162 minutes

this film is rated PG-13

Brothers Movie Review

Brothers: Toby Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Natalie Portman all bring their "A" game in this dramatic tale of service, family, and love. The film is a remake of the 2004 Swedish movie "Brodre". In the opening moments of the film we learn that Capt. Sam Cahill (Maguire) is being deployed back to Afghanistan with his troops. He lives in a small town with his wife (Portman) and two daughters. We are also introduced to Sam's brother Tommy (Gyllenhaal) who has recently been released from jail and is the black sheep of the family. While in Afghanistan, Maguire's helicopter goes down and he is presumed dead by the military. His family back home tries to cope with the news. His brother Tommy comforts his wife and two daughters and slowly they get back to living a normal life with Uncle Tommy filling in as "Dad". However, Maguire is not dead, he is just being held prisoner. Upon his return home we see the affects of post-traumatic stress syndrome as he can no longer function in his old life.

The story is a real pressure cooker and the ending sequence is its boiling point. Kudos to Tobey Maguire, this is easily the best performance of his career. He looks and acts the part to perfection. Both Portman and Gyllenhaal pour in excellent performances as well. As much as I loved a couple of the tense scenes in the story, I could not help but think the film just misses its mark for greatness. I felt that we could have spent more time with Maguire while he was in Afghanistan to see all of the horrors that he encountered. This would help us relate to his struggles even more so. I also would have liked to see a little more insight into the psychiatric care he was receiving after his return home. The story too conveniently keeps the problems between the three main characters. As the movie is very compelling I am recommending it, but I would have liked just a little more.

Rythemovieguy's Rating: B

If this movie had parents they would be: Legends of the Fall & Born on the Fourth of July

Runtime: 110 minutes

Film is rated R

Fantasic Mr. Fox Review

Fantastic Mr. Fox: Thank you Wes Anderson for this great cussing movie! The film is adapted from Roald Dahl's 1970 children's book and is voiced by George Clooney, Meryl Streep, and Bill Murray. It is the kind of movie you will watch with a smile on your face from start to finish. This is because of the whimsical world Anderson creates on screen by using witty dialogue and stop-motion animation, not to mention how much this world mirrors human life. For example, Mr. Fox and his family buy a new property in a tree which is to say they are moving from a garden apartment (a hole in the ground) into a new condo that has spectacular views. Eventually Mr. Fox realizes that he needs danger in his life to be happy, so he concocts a plan to rob three farmers. This angers the farmers who in turn make it their mission to kill Mr. Fox. From there more silliness and humor ensues. The show stealer may just be Jason Schwartzman who voices Ash, Mr. Fox's son who is....well.....different. Wes Anderson fans will love this latest effort as will kids who will enjoy the movie on a different level. Charming, funny.......just cussing FANTASTIC!

Rythemovieguy's Grade: A-

If this movie had parents they would be: Wallace & Gromit and The Royal Tenenbaums

With a runtime of 91 minutes

This film is rated PG

Where The Wilds Things Are Review

Where the Wild Things Are: Ultra-creative filmmaker Spike Jonze adopts the beloved children's book that was penned in 1963 by Maurice Sendak. Considering that the source material is less than 350 words cover-to-cover, one might wonder if there is enough substance to fill a 95 minute feature film. There is no need to worry, Spike Jonze does an amazing job of staying true to the spirit of the book while expanding the adventure! The story begins with Max (played tremendously by newcomer Max Records) playing outside his house with neighborhood kids. In just a few minutes of screen time we get an understanding of Max's high energy level, be it running around destroying things or crumbling down emotionally when things do not work out for him. Also explained in the opening moments of the film is the dynamic family situation Max finds himself involved in and how he perceives it. After angering his mom one night while she has a new boyfriend over, Max runs outside of his house and into the land of the Wild Things. It is here where the film impresses the most. I found it astonishing how well the film captured the wonderment of a child's imagination. The movie does not spoon feed you the correlation between the real world and Max's imaginative world. Instead, it does it very subtly and extremely beautifully. Accompanying Jonze's fantastic images is a haunting musical score that heightens the movie's emotions. Because the film is ultimately an exploration of imagination, I suspect that younger viewers will not find the film all that captivating. However for me, a young man that is a kid at heart, this is one of the year's best!!

Ry's Rating: B+

If this movie had parents they would be: The Never Ending Story & Finding Neverland

With a runtime of 98 minutes

this film is rated PG

A Serious Man Review

A Serious Man: The Coen Brothers' latest effort focuses on a Midwestern Jewish man who is on the verge of a breakdown. Larry Gopnik is a married man and the father of two who sees his life unravel from just about every angle. For starters, his wife asks him for a divorce so that she can marry a friend of the family who is a recent widower. His 12-year-old son's main hobbies are getting high and listening to Jefferson Airplane. Meanwhile, he is up for tenure at the school he teaches at, but even that seems like it is about to become a disaster. Larry looks to his faith for answers on why all of this is happening, but he is having trouble finding an answer. If we have learned anything about the Coen Brothers throughout the years, it is that they are masters at creating and showcasing unique perspectives on distinctive characters. A Serious Man is no exception, the characters are so well written that humor pours out of their smallest actions. However, because the film plays so heavily on Jewish heritage I found myself missing out on a lot of that humor. In fact, at times I felt like an outsider looking in at the party. The film also features a serious side that tackles both morals and faith, but that failed to have enough substance and as a result did not work for me. In the Coen Brothers' filmography this would land somewhere in the middle............I'm serious.

Ry's Rating: B- (RAB: Rental At Best)

If this movie had parents they would be: Falling Down & Doubt

9 Movie Review

9: Gorgeous animation wasted on a sub-par story! The opening scenes set the right tone while showing this film's huge potential. Our main character, a sock puppet named 9 awakens for the first time in a world that has been decimated by war. Those who fought in the war and why is unknown. As 9 discovers the world around him, he slowly uncovers clues as to what caused this mass destruction and wiped out all of mankind. He also encounters other puppets roaming the desolate landscape, each of them made by the same maker and each of them numbered like him. The leader of the puppets is number 1. He believes that they should stay in hiding until all is quite as they know that there is an evil machine roaming around the land that kills anything that moves. The detailed animation is simply amazing and draws you into this strange world. Unfortunately, the film veers from the eerie discovery theme and chooses to focus on big action sequences. This is a terrible mistake as all of the action takes away from the unique feel of the film. I would have preferred to spend more time with the characters adventuring through different environments revealing clues from the past. Eventually we do get a full explanation as to what caused the war and this too can be noted in the disappointment column. It is a story with themes that we have seen more than once before including the destruction of mankind and man vs. machine. The story is not complex enough and that in turn explains why they chose to fill so much time with loud action sequences. In the end, the lesson we learn from 9 is that above all a movie needs a compelling story in order for all of the eye candy to mean anything.

Ry's Rating: C

If this movie had parents they would be: Wall-E and Terminator 4 salvation

With a runtime of 85 minutes

this film is rated PG-13

Inglourious Basterds Review

Inglourious Basterds: Quentin Tarantino, WWII, Brad Pitt, Jewish-American soldiers out for revenge against the Nazis = Where do I get in line? The premise of the film is straight forward, a group of Jewish-American soldiers led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Pitt) are dropped into Nazi-occupied France. Their object is to kill as many Nazi soldiers as possible, spreading fear among the Third Reich. This would make you believe that the film is going to be filled with a lot of gory action scenes, but that is actually not the case. Instead, the highlights of the movie are the well written Tarantino characters and the well written Tarantino dialogue. Speaking of dialogue, the story is told in a variety of languages including German, French, English and even a little Italian. As for the Tarantino characters I speak of, the show stealer is the German Colonel, Hans Landa played masterfully by Christoph Waltz (Oscar nom for sure). Hans is a detective with the Third Reich that has a specialty for finding Jews in hiding. He is evil, but comical at the same time. Another storyline that eventually crosses that of The Basterds is of a young Jewish girl who owns a cinema in Paris. While concealing her Jewish identity, she begins a relationship with a famous German actor and soldier which leads to a German film premier being held at her cinema. Eventually all of the characters and all of the storylines converge for a memorable night at the movies (yeah, that's a pun). As good as some of the characters were in the movie, I was hoping for a little more out of the group of Basterds. I was expecting them to have that Reservoir Dogs kind of chemistry and that was not the case. They are also not as prevalent in the movie as you would think. This is not all that bad, however, since the other characters are just as, if not more interesting. The film also takes some time to get going, but once it does hit full steam it never slows down. Ultimately, the main star here is Tarantino who has such a unique way of telling stories - and that it is a beautiful thing to behold.

Ry's Rating: B-

If this movie had parents they would be: The Dirty Dozen & Kill Bill

With a runtime of 152 minutes

This film is rated R

District 9 Review

District 9: Once in a great while a movie comes around that is so original and so different, that it is hard to categorize. District 9 is one of those movies. It breathes much needed fresh air into the Sci-Fi/Alien genre. The movie opens with a documentary type of feel, with many experts from various fields catching us up on what has transpired over the past two decades. Twenty years ago a huge alien spacecraft came to a haulting stop hovering over the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. Instead of the typical "destroy the earth" scenario, the ship just hovered there with absolutely no activity taking place. Three months went by and finally humans decided to cut into the ship to see if they could make contact. What they discovered on the inoperable ship was a million malnourished and sick aliens. They decided to bring the aliens down to Earth and put them into a militarized camp named District 9. From here the film uses the unusual scenario to comment on everything from racism, slavery, concentration camps, slums, military experiments, and so forth. Our main character is a man by the name of Wikus who is in charge of moving the now 1.8 million aliens (known as prawns) to a new camp located outside of the city. This is thought to help clean up the city from all the crime happening in and around District 9. While Wikus is inside the District he becomes exposed to an alien fluid which changes his DNA. It was so refreshing to sit in the theater and have no idea where the story was going to lead. I will say there is plenty of action, some disgusting moments, and even a love story thrown in as the movie reaches its climax. As for the look of the film - the prawns look very realistic as does their interaction within the environment. It only takes about 20 minutes to get past the weird aspect of aliens and humans living together. It then becomes "Harry and the Hendersons" believable. The end result is a very original and a very entertaining film. In fact, it is one of the best Sci-Fi films that I have seen in a long time!!

Ry's Rating B +

If this movie had parents they would be: E.T. & Amistad

With a runtime of 111 minutes

This film is rated R

In The Loop

In The Loop: A very witty, satirical comedy about the politics between the U.S. and Britain leading up to the Iraq war. The best way to sum up the style of the movie is to imagine a political satire filmed like the television show The Office. The funny business begins when Simon Foster, British Secretary of State for International Development is interviewed on a prime-time newscast. Although he is anti-war, he accidentally gives the impression that he is pro-war by stating that "war is unforeseeable". This draws the attention of Britain's foul-mouthed Communications Chief, Malcolm Tucker who ridicules Simon for such a statement. Meanwhile, a few American politicians take an interest in Simon for his outward statement which buys Simon and his new aide tickets to Washington D.C. to further discuss the matter. While in America, they meet politicians who are for and against the war, their young ladder climbing aides, and even a General (James Gandolfini) who opposes the idea of going to war. The film's clever writing reduces the important issues at hand into immature silliness, all the while making a very loud statement. If you like witty humor, hysterical one liners, and political goofiness with a flavor of The Office, check this one out because it has it all!
Ry's Rating B+

If this movie had parents they would be: Dr. Strangleove & The Office

With a runtime of 104 minutes

This film is rated R

Harry Potter 6

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: This is the darkest, most mature Potter film that we have ever seen. At the same time it also manages to be the funniest film of the series. The gang is back for their sixth year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry - all of them another year older, all of them entering adolescence. The innocent feelings of first love supply a lot of the humor. More importantly, these feelings cast an emotional shadow on the characters that was not prevalent in the past. This helps us relate to them on a new level. Each Potter film seems to hit the jackpot when it comes to introducing a new character to the series. Professor Slughorn played by the brilliant Jim Broadbent is no exception. In fact, I would say he steals the screen for the first two-thirds of the movie. The special effects that bring this magical world to life are done so effortlessly, that in a way, you don't even notice them. From start to finish, the movie is just beautiful to look at. The one thing that hinders this chapter is that the storyline is primarily used to "set-up" the final film. Although Harry, Ron, and Hermione spend plenty of time together, the final quest of the movie detours from the series theme of "teamwork" and focuses only on Harry (and Dumbledore). This final quest also seemed to just pop-up and did not relate enough to the rest of the movie. Ultimately, the film does succeed with its goal - anticipation for movie # 7 - I can't wait!!!

Ry's Rating: B

If this movie had parents they would be: The Empire Strikes Back & Harry Potter 1-5

With a runtime of 156 minutes

This film is rated PG

Public Enemies: Johnny Depp and Christian Bale star in the cool looking, not-so-interesting story of John Dillinger. The casting of Depp as Dillinger is perfect. He brought a flamboyancy to the character that must have been present in Dillinger himself, thus leading to his legendary status. I also really appreciated Bale's performance as Melvin Purvis the FBI agent who was in charge of hunting down John Dillinger. The downside of the movie is the rather weak story. For being one of the most famous bank robbers of all time, Dillinger's life was a rather bore. The film tries hard, but fails to get the audience to care about his relationship with his girlfriend Billie (played by Marion Cotillard). This is supposed to be the emotional side of the story, but I don't think they gave us enough reason to care about either character. The film is brought to us from acclaimed director Michael Mann (Heat, Miami Vice) - this ensures us of one thing.....some awesome looking shootout scenes. I like gunfire on the silver screen as much as anyone, but these scenes came to us with no suspense and seemed to go on for too long. I wanted to be so engaged with the movie that when I walked out of the theater I would be afraid of being shot just like Dillinger was. Instead, I walked out of the theater feeling like I was robbed.
Ry's Rating = C+

If this movie had parents they would be: Road to Perdition & Wisdom

With a runtime of 132 minutes

This film is rated PG-13

Angels&Demons Review

Angels & Demons: Ron Howard and Tom Hanks bring their second Dan Brown offering to the big screen. It pains me to say this, but they struck out again. I actually think the mediocre Da Vinci Code was a better effort. Angels & Demons feels rushed, insincere, and fails to capture one of the significant themes from the book - religion vs. science. The screenplay actually varies quite a lot from the novel, which should have given them more time to properly pace the movie, but it failed to do so. Code and Demons are both tough novels to translate onto film as so much of the action and discovery is done in the hero’s mind. The hero again is Robert Langdon (Hanks). He is summoned by the Vatican police to help solve a grave threat that has been made by the ancient secret group – the Illuminati. The Vatican is in conclave (electing a new pope) when four cardinals are kidnapped. The Illuminati say that they will execute each cardinal every hour at a different church in Rome. The fifth hour will bring mass destruction to Rome by means of a hidden bomb. The bomb is actually a droplet of “antimatter” which was created by scientists at CERN – thus making it a war between science and religion (this theme is barely touched on). Can Langdon figure out which churches the cardinals will be taken to and can he save them before they meet their maker? His only lead is a 400 year old poem by Galileo. From there, he must follow clues that take him across Rome, but time is not on his side. Not nearly as suspenseful as it should have been…..not as smart as it should have been….just not as good as it should have been.
Ry’s Rating: C

If this movie had parents they would be: Speed & The Da Vinci Code

With a runtime of 148 minutes

this film is rated PG-13

New Star Trek Review

Star Trek: Wow, am I impressed! When I heard the early buzz on this film “rebooting the series with a young attractive cast” I thought it would be like 90210 in space…or in other words, a complete disaster. Then a strange thing happened, the trailer came out and actually looked pretty good. Then the positive reviews and word of mouth started to come in. Finally, on Saturday I was able to check it out for myself. I have to tip my cap to J.J. Abrams for a job well done. I am not a “trekkie” by any means. However I have seen a couple of the movies, cried when Spock died in Khan, and know most of the main characters. This movie actually made me want to discover more of the Star Trek lore. The story starts at the very beginning and I mean the Very Beginning: we see Captain Kirk’s birth. We then jump ahead 25 years to the U.S.S. Enterprise's first mission out to investigate a distress call from the planet Vulcan. What makes the rest of the ride so enjoyable is the cast. Every one of the crew members does an excellent job of getting us to care about them, plus their chemistry together is tremendous. The two leads – Spock (Zachary Quinto) and Kirk (Chris Pine) are perfect together as we see their friendship begin. On top of the perfect cast is a well layered story that includes some time travel elements that work perfectly for the situation. Lastly, we have some grand special effects that breathe some life into the movie – gone are the days of a camera tilting and the actors falling all over. Star Trek is back…..and in my opinion, better than ever before.

Ry's Rating: A-

If this movie had parents they would be: Back to the Future & The Last Star Fighter

With a runtime of 121 minutes

This film is rated PG-13

Indie Incubator 8 Review

The Indie Incubator Film Festival turned 8 last week. I have been lucky to be a part of this phenomenon for the past 7 installments. Of course, there are two individuals who have been there from the very beginning – Matt Kubinski and Charles Klein. They have done an excellent job growing and refining this film fest throughout the years. In my opinion, this latest chapter was their best! As a whole, the crop of films shown at the Original Mother’s last Tuesday was the highest quality yet. What these young filmmakers may lack in budget they make-up for in a wealth of creativity. The films shown are judged by a panel of judges (Kathy Byrne, Kit Wood & myself) with the winning film earning a chance to be shown on WTTW’s Image Union. If I were in charge of Image Union, I would show at least 3 films from the festival. The first highlight was Already Happened brought to us by Orange Chair productions. The focus here is on a CD player that may or may not be a time-travel device. Very well produced, drew me in…I did not want it to end. The second highlight was Rock Star – a very funny video from Lola Balatro. We hear and see a Rock Star battle with the rock ' n roll lifestyle as he tries not to burnout. The last highlight was the brightest. Theory of Everything Productions screened the 3 part masterpiece Never. We were fortunate a couple of fests before to see the first part of Never and I loved it back then. Now complete – this film has the distinction of being the best film ever to screen at an Indie Incubator Film Fest. Both Devon Ford and Chris Lane (the mind and money behind Never) were on hand to receive the award for Best in Fest. If you have not jumped in on the fun yet, you are really missing out. Next Incubator is in November – do yourself a favor and make it out for the event!!!

Ry's Rating: A must attend event !!

Watchmen movie review

Watchmen: The first major “event” film of the new year came barreling into theaters this past weekend. With it comes a peculiar conversation regarding how you are going to judge the film. The conversation always opens up with this question – have you read the novel? The Watchmen graphic novel is held in the highest esteem by its followers. They want to make sure that the movie stays true to the source material. I believe the answer to that question is yes it does. Not that I myself have read it, but hearing from fanboys who have, they seem to really like the final result. However, it also seems to me that the people who have read the novel appear to generally like the movie a lot more than those of us who have not. Let us not forget this is a movie review site, I should not have to read something prior to seeing a film to get the full enjoyment of the movie. What I think that ultimately says is that the movie failed to capture all of the complexity of the characters and of the story lines.
The Story takes place in an altered 1985. It is a 1985 that has Richard Nixon as the president of the United States and has the world on the brink of nuclear war. The Watchmen are a group of people who dress up in costumes and fight crime, but they themselves have no superhuman powers. There is only one hero with powers and that is Doctor Manhattan – he can basically control matter, meaning…he can do basically anything he wants. Can the Watchmen save mankind from destroying itself? If they can, what is the best way to do so? The themes of the film are thoughtful, but I think they are themes that we have seen before (although some may have been stolen from the Watchmen). In the end we have a respectable adaptation that did not live up to the hype for this reviewer. For those on the fence about seeing it – don’t wait for DVD, because the fun I did get out of the movie was just how cool it all looked on the big screen.

Ry's Rating: B-

If this movie had parents they would be: X-men & Dr. Strangelove

With a runtime of 162 minutes

This film is rated R

The Reader movie review

The Reader: After hearing that The Reader made its way to the big dance at the Academy Awards (nominated for best picture and 5 other awards), I put it at the top of my must see list. The story takes place in post World War II Germany and spans over 25 years. It is told during three different time periods. We begin in the late 1950’s when a teenage Michael Berg begins to have an affair with Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet), a woman who is twice his age. The affair lasts for a summer and while Hanna is older and not as emotionally attached, young Michael falls deeply in love. Besides an abundance of nudity, this section of the film also reveals that Hanna loves being read to. When Hanna picks up and leaves, Michael figures he will never see her again. We then jump ahead about 10 years with Michael now a law student who sits in on a Nazi war trial against several women. One of the women being accused is Hanna Schmitz. The third time period in the story takes place in the 1980’s with an older Michael (Ralph Fiennes) who is still in contact with Hanna. The movie has a unique viewpoint of the Holocaust and contains a potent love story. However, the finale actually came across as a little clunky on screen. Winslet’s performance while good was not even her best of the year (see Revolutionary Road). So in closing, while I found the story to be very captivating I still would not have had this in my “best of the year category”. I would have preferred to see The Dark Knight or even Revolutionary Road get a nod in lieu of The Reader.

Ry's Rating: B

If this movie had parents they would be: Schindler’s List & Atonement

With a running time of 123 minutes

This film is rated R

Ryan's Top 10 of 2008

Ryan: From a dark knight to a slumdog, a trash compacting robot to a man who ages backwards. The year in movies for 2008 was one entertaining ride. To be honest though, I think this year was rather weak in comparison to the last few. However, the year did produce some noteworthy pictures that were just a cut above the rest. Below I list my top 10 films of the year. There are some sacrifices made in seeing enough films to compile such a list. The worst has to be sitting through the same trailer multiple times to the point where I am able to recite the lines in unison. It is bad enough having to sit through a trailer for “Bride Wars”, but having to do it three weekends in a row is just brutal. Luckily, I always have someone next to me to roll my eyes with when the trailer for Last Chance Harvey pops up for the 7th time – Jen? (Jen's list is included as well)

Jen: Woo hoo! We agreed on our #1 film of the year! It is without a doubt that Slumdog, Milk, Frost/Nixon, Revolutionary Road, and WALL-E were some of the year's best. There were some strong performances in all of them including the most charming animated robot. I am glad that we both included some smaller films. Chicago 10 was so well executed through the weaving of fact, animation, and live footage to tell the story of the riots at the Chicago Democratic Convention in 1968. I loved Richard Jenkins in The Visitor - he is an amazing actor. In Bruges was funny and witty and The Duchess showed the strength of one woman. The Dark Knight was very entertaining. It is really a shame about Heath Ledger, he was brilliant as The Joker. As always, thanks for another great year of conspiring to see how many movies we can cram into a week. It is always fun to compare notes after arriving late, managing to find two seats next to each other, and sitting through yet another trailer for Last Chance Harvey.

Ryan's Top 10

10. Religulous

9. The Visitor

8. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

7. WALL-E

6. The Wrestler

5. Frost/Nixon

4. Revolutionary Road

3. Milk

2. The Dark Knight

1. Slumdog Millionaire

Jen's Top 10

10. W .

9. In Bruges

8. Doubt

7. Chicago 10

6. WALL-E

5. The Duchess

4. Revolutionary Road

3. Milk

2. Frost/Nixon

1. Slumdog Millionaire

.

Looking to join in the fun: The Visitor, The Duchess, Chicago 10, In Bruges, and Wall-E are all out on DVD.

Revolutionary Road

Revolutionary Road: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet reunite for the 1st time since the Titanic sailed into theaters 10 years ago. The two movies could not be any more different. Revolutionary Road is a drama driven by the intense dialogue hurled out by the two leads with a special effect shot nowhere to be seen in the 2 hour runtime. Frank (DiCaprio) & April (Winslet) are a young married couple living in suburbia with their two children. They begin to feel as if their lives have become formulated and uninteresting so they look for a change - a change of scenery, a new job, a new way of life (they decide on all three). At the heart of the film is the question - “what should we be doing with our lives?” Why does it seem that so many people fall into the same rut of working at a job that they don't like to afford things that they really do not need? For one, to support their family, but many forget during that journey what it is that they truly set out to discover in life. Just before Frank & April are to leave suburban life behind for Paris, April discovers she is pregnant with their 3rd child. This causes Frank to have second thoughts about their decision to start a new life. The acting by both DiCaprio (he should at least see an Oscar nomination for this) and Winslet is phenomenal and it actually has to be at that level for the film to have any weight at all. Through their on-screen arguments they carry the ideals of the story. This movie is certainly not for everyone and I can see some people brushing off the dreams that the characters have as “crazy notions of an unhappily married couple.” However, it worked for me as I believed their story and their feelings. This is one of the year’s best!

Ry's Rating: A-

If this movie had Parents, they would be: Little Children & The Hours

With a runtime of 119 minutes

This film is rated R

Doubt

Doubt: Meryl Streep plays a strict nun and Philip Seymour Hoffman plays an unconventional priest, I doubt you can find two better actors for such roles. The story is set in the 1960’s when child molestation scandals within the Catholic Church were not as prevalent as they are today. The period when the film is set works in favor of the story for this reason. The scandal remains within the school walls and only involves the priest, two nuns, the boy, and the boy’s mother. The acting by Streep and Hoffman creates some tense moments, but I would have actually liked to see a few more of those moments. The script was adopted from a stage play and it is easy to see how well this would work in the theater. The film tries hard to create the Catholic school atmosphere and I thought that this is where it succeeded the most! Amy Adams plays the nice, naive nun. She is perfect in contrast to Streep’s character who is at the center of the accusations. Since there is never any hard evidence to convict or reprieve the priest, the premise is one of belief and doubt, religion and faith - making this a great film to discuss with friends. This is a well executed film with great acting…however, I think the story would work better as an intimate play than as a motion picture.

Ry's Rating: B

If this movie had parents they would be: Deliver Us from Evil & The Scarlet Letter

With a run time of 104 minutes,

This film is rated PG-13