Milk Review

Milk: Sean Penn stars as Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office. I myself am not a big fan of Sean Penn, but I have to give credit where credit is due - he might just be the best actor working today. He proves this again with the role of Harvey Milk. He does such a good job that you are not even conscious of his outstanding acting, you just believe he is that character. What makes the movie even more impressive is that the rest of the cast is outstanding as well. James Franco is excellent as Harvey’s partner. It is without a doubt his best performance to date. Plus, Emile Hirsch and Josh Brolin also pour in a couple of great supporting roles. Harvey Milk was elected to San Francisco public office in 1977 and was the voice of the people who had a right to be heard. In 1978 he stood up to Proposition 6, a California ballot measure aimed at preventing gay people and supporters from working as teachers in public schools. He was assassinated 3 weeks later. I am not giving anything away by telling you this. The story is not one of suspense, but of hope. The hope that his message is disseminated and helps open people's eyes. The story is extremely powerful and hits home at a time when Proposition 8 (banning of gay marriage) is front page news. This film is directed by Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting). He structures the movie in a way that lets us know the accomplishments of Harvey Milk while getting to know the man himself. This is what makes the movie. It is what makes the message so powerful. Harvey is a person just like you and I, a person living life, loving the people close to him…why shouldn't that person have the same rights as the rest of us?

Ry's Rating: A-

Parents: Brokeback Mountain & Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

With a runtime of 128 minutes

This film is rated R

Australia Review

Australia: Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman star in Baz Luhrmann’s sweeping epic about the land down under. All of the elements were in place to make the classic Hollywood saga, but yet the story ultimately felt empty. This is not to say that the movie is a total bust. Putting this film on the “perspective scale” you see that it was trying to be a lot more than the standard tale. Australia may have come up short of its goal, but it still lands above much of the junk in theaters today. The movie opens up with Lady Ashley (Kidman) traveling from England to Australia to see her long absent husband at the cattle ranch he purchased. Just before she arrives, her husband is murdered leaving her sole proprietor of the cattle ranch. She can either take the easy way out and sell the cattle business to her evil competitor or keep the business going on her own. It is almost a 3 hour movie…..she picks the latter. In doing so, she must figure out a way to heard 1,500 cattle over treacherous land to the Australian port of Darwin. There she will be able to sell her cattle to the army who is preparing for World War II. Enter Drover (Jackman), the best damn cattle drover in all of the land. With him in the lead and a cast of 5 others including Kidman and an aboriginal boy, the adventure begins. That is only part one of the story. When they finally make it to Darwin there is controversy about who the little boy should stay with since he is of white and aboriginal descent and has no parents to care for him. Then there is the empire of Japan who comes in and bombs Darwin in hopes that it will cut off supplies to the Australian military. Through all of this, the characters finally realize who they truly love and care for…now the question is whether they can save each other from danger. The movie is filled with wide shots of the beautiful landscape and even has some moments of awe during both the cattle herding and war scenes. Luhrmann also finds a way to incorporate the song “Somewhere over the Rainbow”. I thought the acting was good – Kidman better than Jackman and the boy above them both. I think two things that could have helped strengthen the film would be tweaking the story so that we cared more about the fate of the characters and adding a little more of Luhrmann’s creative directing style to separate it from the norm. The story was grand, but the emotion was shallow. I liked it, but wanted more…

Ry's Rating: B-

If this movie had parents they would be: Out of Africa & Pearl Harbor

With a runtine of 165 minutes

This film is rated PG-13

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire: An extraordinary motion picture from director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting). The premise of the movie is one that will have want-to-be screenwriters asking “why didn’t I think of that”. The story centers around Jamal Malik an Indian teen that grew up in the slums of Mumbai (Bombay) India and now finds himself on the game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The film is brilliantly structured. After each question that Jamal is asked on the show, the film cuts to a flashback of his rough childhood. In each circumstance we get an understanding of why Jamal knows the answer to the question being asked. The flashbacks also reveal more about Jamal’s life and his resilience to succumb to the evils around him while he pursues his true love, Latika. Latika was born in the same slum as Jamal, but circumstances separate them on more than one occasion. As Jamal answers more questions, the story completes itself by leading up to the 1 million dollar moment. The film is more than just rooting for the underdog, it is ultimately a salute to love and to the beauty of life itself. The cinematography, editing, and music have to be noted as they turn this remarkable story into a masterpiece. With the movie taking place in India over the span of roughly 15 years, it is easy to see the correlation between Jamal’s life and the progress the country made during that time. Simply put, this is one of the best films of 2008. It will make you want to cheer in the aisle. So if the question is: Ry, what should I go see at the theater this weekend? Slumdog Millionaire ......and that is my Final Answer.

Ry's Rating: A

If this movie had parents they would be: Born into Brothels & Quiz Show

With a runtimes of 118 minutes

This film is rated R

Religulous

Religulous: Bill Maher goes out on a ledge and dare I say - questions the validity of religion. He does so in a very Michael Moore kind of way, using tongue and cheek humor to prove his point. He opens up with a very strong statement – “Religion is a detriment to the progress of humanity”. This is a very fascinating point of view and one that most people are scared to touch, even with a ten foot poll. Over the next 90 minutes, he highlights how silly it is for people with any amount of intelligence to “literally” believe in some of the more bizarre stories of each religion. As I sat and watched him talk to people about various religions, I could not help but feel uncomfortable. I think that is fact enough that questioning the idea or truth of religion is taboo in our society. This is way too touchy of a subject for me to take sides on. I will just say that I am glad to see that someone finally had the guts to come out and make a film that will actually get people talking about the role religion should play in our day-to-day lives, politics/government, and humanity as a whole. This is in no way an attempt to smear a particular religion and favor another. Bill Maher is looking at the larger picture and questioning all religions and their motives. He also looks at those who profit in many cases from people who have strong faith. Not to be overlooked is the fact that this a very funny movie and this is coming from a guy who does not care for…..no, actually I should say hates Bill Maher. In the last 5 minutes of the film he gives his closing argument: so many religions speak of the Armageddon coming, but the fact is that the Armageddon may come as a result of people not being able to sort out their religious differences. This movie hopes to help people put everything into perspective…….lets pray it works.

Ry's Rating: B+

If this movie had parents they would be: The Passion of the Christ & Bowling for Columbine

With a runtime of 101 minutes

This film is rated R