Transamerica

Transamerica: Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) stars as a transsexual man who is only a week away from having a sex change surgery to change over to a woman. She/He already looks and talks and dresses like a woman. Then a bombshell comes in the way of a phone call. She/He (Sabrina) finds out that she has a son who is 17, this was the result of his only sexual encounter with a women back when he was in college. Before doctors can approve of the surgery they want Sabrina to go out to NY and make sure his/her son is taken care of. Problem is the son’s mother has died and the only one to care for him is Sabrina. Not knowing this is his dad the comedy situations come in handfuls, but over all the film is a drama – We see the reason why we should be truthful to others and to yourself. The main reason to see this film is the performance of Huffman, playing man who is acting like a women........ it was exceptional!!
* * *
If this movie had parents they would be – Boys Don’t Cry & Dutch

With a running time of 105 minutes
This film is rated R

Hustle & Flow

Hustle & Flow: An outstanding movie about a pimp in north Memphis trying to fulfill his dream of being a rapper. DJay the pimp, is played excellently by Terrence Howard. In fact the whole cast is worth noting as they all bring a richness and realism to the characters. Although they are playing pimps and hookers, they make them likeable. The story picks up with DJay living in a run down house with 3 women who he pimps out on the street to make his money. When he finds out that a successful rapper who grew up in the area is coming back into town he figures this is his shot to show he can make music as well. What we see next is a man give his everything to something believes he can do. Very inspirational! The music acts as almost another character in the film. The songs are good and sound like something that would actually be written by a pimp. Overall…..A Must Rent!!!!!

* * * and ½
If this movie had parents they would be: 8 Mile + Boyz in the Hood

With a running time of 115 minutes
This film is rated R

Red Eye

Red Eye: From horror/suspense artist Wes Craven, we have a movie with more holes in the plot than Swiss cheese. The story takes place on a red eye flight from Texas back to Florida. Rachel McAdams (the new It girl) works at a high end hotel in Florida. For some reason terrorists decide to target her - because she has so much power over where the guests of the hotel stay. The terrorists are after one of the high profile guests staying at her hotel. The film should have opened with a warning to the viewers = please Dumb yourself down so you can properly enjoy the following film. Truth be told, if I did not think too much about the hokey story line…..the film was entertaining and a bit suspenseful. Cillian Murphy turns in a good role as the creepy terrorist that is on the flight with McAdams. Overall, if you are looking for an easy watch, nothing to think about that much ………this is OK

* *
If this Film had Parents they would be – Air force One + Hostage

With a running time of 87 minutes
This film is rated PG-13

Ry's Top 10 of 2005

This ended up being a great year for movies. We may not have had one "big, must see," movie, but we had plenty of great films. It was actually tough to narrow it down to just 10, but I did my best. Below you will see the 10 movies and next to it a quick reason why it made this list. Every movie I have seen this year, I saw with my partner in crime....so I thought it only far to include her list as well. it will follow my list.
Top 10 of 05
10. Cinderella Man -A powerful story, that is very inspirational
9. North Country - Charlize Theron turns out another great performance
8. King Kong - Big action movie with heart
7. Walk the line - Best musical bio I have seen
6. Munich - Not just a great story but a lesson we need to learn
5. Syriana - a timely, poignant look at the Oil business
4. The Squid and the Whale – Funny, creative, Quirky……REAL
3. Match Point - A well told thriller from Woody Allen
2. Brokeback Mountain - a haunting story that will stay with you long after you see it
1. Crash - The best written film of the year, brings us a powerful look at society

A Second Opinion...... Jen's list
10. Syriana
9. Shopgirl
8. Walk the Line
7. Melinda & Melinda
6. Match Point
5. The Squid & the Whale
4. Brokeback Mountain
3. North Country
2. Crash
1. Munich

The Island

The Island: A Sci-fi, futuristic action film starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson. Both of them are clones who live in a secure society, where they think the rest of the world has been contaminated. Truth is these clones where made solely for their body parts and organs of the humans who had them made. The concept is actually really cool and intriguing. At about the half way mark the movie starts to slide down hill…..and fast. The ending could have made us think morally about the subject matter…..instead they rush through it like they were running out of money. The action overall was ok, and the movie supplies some humor – “*action movie humor”. The story starts out well and finishes poorly. - Overall it was a guilty pleasure for me, as I would recommend for a rental.
*Note: Action Movie Humor: most commonly comes in the form of 1 liners that are a play on words. Example – Schwarzenegger in Commando, he drops Sully over a cliff – killing him, when he walks back to the car they ask him “What happen to Sully? “I let him go” – cue the laughter.

* *
With a running time of 139 minutes
This film is rated PG-13

Match Point

Match Point: Woody Allen turns to drama, suspense, and the city of London for his latest masterpiece. The plot involves love, lust and a little luck. Chris Wilton a former Tennis pro marries Chloe Hewett and with that marries into a very, very….very wealthy family. His life seems set……until he meets Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson), she is dating his wife’s brother and is set to be his future sister-in-law. His feelings for her get him in an awful situation and the tension rises. The story is so captivating; it had me on the edge of my seat for the last 45 minutes. Just when you think it is bad….it gets worse. Woody Allen took a simple story line and turns it into one of the best films of the year! – And one of the more suspenseful movies to come along in some time. I walked out of the theater and my body was racing, nervous for what I just saw. The acting, story, and directing all are excellent. A fantastic film!!!

* * * *
With a running time of 124 minutes
This film is rated R

Grizzly Man

Grizzly Man: Not even sure how to review this film. I really think it is up to the viewer to decide how to take this movie……it is strange, but one thing is for sure – you will want to talk about it. It is a documentary about the life of Timothy Treadwell – who spent 13 years of his life living among wild grizzly bears in Alaska. He brings along video equipment and really does achieve some amazing visuals….walking up to the bears without fear. He did this for 13 years and then was eaten by one of the bears…..who also went on to devour Timothy’s girlfriend. It is a true story, no joke! Director Werner Herzog got a hold of all the footage Timothy shot and made this film for all to see. In between we have clips of people in Timothy’s life talking about him, some good – some bad. Timothy Treadwell is a very strange character….almost mentally disturbed. He actually wants to be a bear. His strange behavior will split your emotions on whether to laugh or to feel sorry for him. This is a must see.

* * and ½

With a running time of 104 minutes
This film is rated R

Munich

Munich: Another Steven Spielberg masterpiece. The story starts out with the 1972 Olympics that were held in Munich Germany. 11 Israeli athletes were taken hostage and killed by Palestinian terrorists. Israel then wanted to have their revenge and take out all the men responsible for the Munich horror. We follow along a hit squad as they make their way all over Europe hunting down their targets. Eric Bana plays Avner – who heads up the group, he is the key to the film getting its message across…..he does an excellent job. Things do not go perfect for the Israeli group, taking out their targets is much harder than expected. The message of the film is how getting revenge only leads to more revenge form the other side……when will it all end? - We are still waiting for it. The beauty is seeing Avner realize that no good is being done on either side. Spielberg then uses the last shot of the film to drive the message home -done to perfection. Only thing keeping this from a perfect score was I felt it ran a little too long.

* * * and ½

With a run time of 174 minutes
This film is rated R

Walk the Line

Walk The Line: Another biography of a famous singer/song writer…..this time it’s Johnny Cash. Cash is played excellently by Joaquin Phoenix, but even more impressive is the job Reese Witherspoon does playing June Carter (show stealing)! Not only do both give great acting performances, but they sing all the vocals in the movie – outstanding job!!!! The story is also a notch above most movies dealing with musicians in that the moral of it can relate to almost everyone. We start out with Johnny Cash as a young kid and some of the heartbreak he and his family went through. The story follows Cash through his time in the service and on to the beginning of his career. He soon meets June Carter and a special kind of relationship begins. Cash’s early career was not without trouble, but he was given a second chance - something he feels everyone should be entitled to. This is a great movie for all!

* * * and ½

With a running time of 132 minutes
This film is rated PG-13