Becoming Jane – PG for brief nudity and mild language- starring Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy. Biography/Drama/Romance. This is a British film, essentially a biography of Jane Austen. This won the People’s Choice Awards for Favorite Independent Movie. And no, you couldn't make me watch it if you tried. CHICK FLICK.
Gone Baby Gone – R for violence, drug content, and pervasive language – starring… hey, wait a minute.. weren’t we just talking about Casey Affleck? Also starring Michelle Monahan and Morgan Freeman. Co-written, co-produced, and directed by… hey, wait another minute—big brother Ben Affleck. Nepotism at its finest. Crime/Drama/Mystery. Well, Ben didn’t actually write the story, he wrote the screenplay, which was based on the novel by Dennis Lehane. This is the story about two inexperienced private detectives who investigate the kidnapping of a little girl set in one of the toughest neighborhoods in Boston. The film was nominated for an Oscar (for Amy Ryan’s performance as best supporting actress), and won 15 other various film awards. Ben Affleck took home at least one, and guess who took home the other, oh, say 12? Yep, Amy Ryan. Who is Amy Ryan, you ask? Well, most recently you’ve seen her in The Wire. She’s also appeared in a few episodes of Law & Order, E.R., Chicago Hope, and was in the movie Capote and is the new movie Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. But back to Gone Baby Gone. The reviews were great for this movie. It did well in the theatre. Although Amy Ryan took home a plethora of awards, and deserved each one of them, Casey Affleck's performance was not to be overlooked. LeHane's story was great, to be sure, and Affleck's character was truely interesting, and Affleck gave it all he had, which was more than enough. In retrospect, I couldn't imagine anyone else playing this role. Monahan, on the other hand, was so-so, and could have been replaced by just about anyone. Not bad, just ho-hum. The movie is a contender for one of the best of the year, and my ONLY exception with it is that they used the f-word in sentences as much as I use articles such as a, and, and the.
Martian Child-PG for thematic elements and mild language-starring John Cusack, Bobby Coleman, and Amanda Peet. Oh, and wherever you see John Cusack, yes, you see Joan Cusack, so sis is in this one too. Nepotism again. Drama. This is the movie that was trailered forever, it seemed. The cute little 6-yr old boy who thinks he’s from Mars, and has been abandoned while a science fiction writer decides whether to take him in. Similar to Gone Baby Gone, this is not an original story, rather it is based on the novel by the same name by David Gerrold. Normally this would not be the type of movie I would sit down and watch. No one dies. Nothing explodes. There are no hitmen. No car chases. No wars. BUT it is a true story. That gets me somtimes. Joan Cusack is great, and she would likely be the main reason I would watch it. John Cusack is usually pretty good as well. We should call this nepotism week. The other reason I watched this was that it was about foster parenting. And of course, being a foster parent myself, I couldn't pass this up. Aside from some factual descrepancies regarding the fostercare system, the movie was good. And no, I wasn't crying about the dog thing, I just had the sniffles or something. Gosh. Yes, it was sappy and cute, which is far from my typical genre, but I must admit that I just liked it anyway. Cute kid, and you just couldn't help but like both him and the movie. And for those of you foster parents, yeah... you will relate with some of the ... joyful.. yeah.. joyful... obstacles that we sometimes face as foster parents. And for those of you who aren't foster parents, perhaps it may spark an interest in doing so. All my kids enjoyed it as well. A great family film.
Primal – Didn't see.
We Own the Night –R for strong violence, drug material, language, some sexual content, and brief nudity- starring Joaquin Phoenix, Eva Mendes, Mark Wahlberg, Robert Duvall, and Oleg Taktarov/Crime/Drama/I about fell out of my chair (ok, it was a couch) when I saw Oleg Taktarov’s name. He was one of the first UFC guys when UFC was more Kumate/less WWF. (Of course it’s all hokey now and you can disagree but deep down you know it’s true. Oleg was from back in the Grace Jujitsu days.) Taktarov wasn’t top billed in We Own the Night, but he was worth mentioning all the same. This is a Crime/Drama/Thriller, and the subject matter revolves around New York nightclubs, cops, and the Russian mafia (enter Oleg). Привет ! Yes, there are a few instances of Russian dialogue with English subtitles. It may look and sound like it might be bordering on an action movie—it isn’t. It’s a drama. Expect a crime drama and you will not be disappointed. Nominated for some awards but didn’t come home with any. Was still well received at the box office and in many critic’s reviews. Pitting this against Gone Baby Gone, and I'd have to say Gone Baby Gone was my favorite, but only by a slight margin. We Own the Night was fabulous, but in this case, Phoenix and Wahlberg made the movie. The story itself wouldn't have stood on its own without the duo (at least not as well), unlike Gone Baby Gone, which was a self-sufficient story as well as properly cast. Phoenix and Wahlberg were astounding, and therefore made the movie that way. And similar to Gone Baby Gone, I hear f-this or f-you more times that I could count. I'm not insinuating that We Own the Night was a bad story line. It was actually quite good. But it was not of the same calibur as that of Gone Baby Gone. Both are definitely must sees. And I can't stand Eva Mendes.
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