Something in the Air 2012

     Also titled Apres Mai.  Gilles is a French high school student in suburban Paris of 1971.  Three years earlier in 1968, there were youth riots against reactionary government, a complacent society and promoting pro-Communist revolutionary ideas.  Gilles and his friends still believe in these ideas and they set up new riots.  An act of vandalism against their school goes wrong and draws attention from the police.  They agree to split up for the summer break.

     This film is semi-autobiographical and traces the lives of a group of young activists, they grow and change as the film progresses but it all seems without a plot.  They are evolving but not forcefully enough to maintain your interest.  At least society has moved slightly ahead in handling riots, instead of beating everyone in their path, they use pepper spray.   2* (I didn’t like this movie)

122 min, Drama directed by Olivier Assayas with Clement Metayer, Lola Creton, Felix Armand, Carole Combres, Indai Menuez, Hugo Conzelmann, Mathias Renou.

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 6.5 out of 10, 82% critic 49% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Alex Cross 2012

     This film is based on a character developed by best selling author James Patterson.  Cross is a detective, forensic psychologist and he works for the Detroit Police Department.  His partner is Tommy Kane and they also have a rookie, Monica Ashe, on their team.  Cross is very dedicated to his work and the safety of his team but he’s also just as committed to his family life.  He’s very excited to learn that his wife Maria is expecting their third child.  The team is called to investigate the murder of a wealthy and well-connected woman.  Her three bodyguards have also been killed.  How did someone get a gun into the home since there would be a search by the guards?  The case leads them to French financier, Leon Mercier, he is believed to be the killer’s main target.  The clues point to a psychotic killer who likes to inflict pain upon his victims.

     Too much like a TV drama, very crude and follows the set pattern of cop-chases-crazy killer.  It’s hard to dredge up any emotions about the characters because they seem like paper cutouts instead of real people.  2* (I didn’t like this movie)

101 min, Crime directed by Rob Cohen with Tyler Perry, Edward Burns, Matthew Fox, Jean Reno, Carmen Ejogo, Cicely Tyson, Rachel Nichols, Giancarlo Esposito.

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 4.9 out of 10, 12% critic 49% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Call 2013

     Jordan Turner works as an operator at a 911 call center in Los Angeles.  Jordan needs to remain focused, in the moment and alert on her long nights of high intensity work.  She takes a call from a terrified young girl reporting a man breaking into her home.  She’s doing very well with this call until she loses contact.  She calls the girl back and the ringing of the phone alerts the prowler that the girl is still in the house.  This mistake causes Jordan to suffer tremendous guilt, total self-doubt and she becomes a teacher of new operators instead of working the calls.  She is taking trainees on a tour of the calling center when an inexperienced operator receives a call from another young girl being held hostage in a car trunk.

     This film is very good, it keeps you on the edge of your seat and you keep wondering how the second case is going to turn out?  You also keep yelling at the screen and telling Jordan what she should and should not do.  Offers a different perspective for the ending.  3 ½* (I liked this movie.

94 min, Mystery & Suspense directed by Brad Anderson with Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin, Morris Chestnut, Michael Eklund, David Otunga, Michael Imperioli, Justina Machado.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 /12*, imdb 6.6 out of 10, 44% critic 67% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Bert Stern: Original Mad Man 2011

     This movie is written and filmed by Bert’s third wife, Shannah Laumeister.  Bert started his career as a mailroom boy for Look Magazine and he got the job because he didn’t want to go to school.  He became close friends with Stanley Kubrick at Look.  Bert got a chance to start photographing to advertise for Smirnoff Vodka.  He became successful in his photography career at the age of 25.  Madison Avenue, Hollywood and the international fashion scene began hiring him for jobs.  He loved beautiful women and was able to photograph Jean Shrimpton, Suzie Parker, Audrey Hepburn, Bridget Bardot, Twiggy, Liz Taylor and Marilyn Monroe.  Bert married Teddy Air but he didn’t want to be married and they divorced.  Bert was also married to ballet dancer Allegra Kent and they had three children but were also divorced. 

     Bert Stern had a special talent, he said he photographed the space between him and the subject.  He understood triangles and used this as the basis for setting up his photographs.  He also directed and filmed Jazz on a Summer’s Day.  He became very wealthy but began using amphetamines and lost everything.  This is very good and interesting.  He died June 26, 2013 at the age of 83.  He seemed bored, lacking his original spark and drive during this filming.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

93 min, Doc directed by Shannah Laumeister with Bert Stern, Albert D’annibale, Dorothy Tristan David Montgomery, George Lois, Carol Halebian, Jerry Delia Femina, Larry Chilnick, George Wein, Judith Crist, Lisa Lavender, Anita O’Day.

Note:  Imdb 6.2 out of 10, 47% critic 69% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Flying Swords of Dragon Gate 2011

     This film is set three years after the previous film Dragon Inn.  Jade, the innkeeper has disappeared, the inn has burned to the ground and a new inn has been built on the ashes.  Marauders pretending to be citizens staff this inn during the day but at night they are fortune hunters.  They hope to unearth a fabled lost city buried in the desert containing a treasure.

     There is really not much of a story or plot, just one fight scene after another.  Maybe you need to be a fan of the wuxia genre?  Wuxia means martial hero and is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists.  3* (This movie is OK)

122 min, Action directed by Tsui with Jet Li, Zhou Zun, Kun Chen, Gwei Lunmei, Li Yuchun, Mavis Fan, Siu-Wong Fan, Chia-Hui Liu, Jiankui Sun, Chien Sheng.

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 5.9 out of 10, 70% critic 48% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

The World Before Her 2012

     Ruhi Singh is from a small town in India, she leaves her home for Bombay and she wants to win the title of Miss India.  She will take part in an intense month long beauty camp.  The winner will be launched on a lucrative career path and gain freedom from the restraints of society.  A few hours away from the competition, there is another camp training girls to fight against Western culture, Islam and Christianity.  This camp is run my militant fundamentalist movement.  If they must use violence, they will be trained how to do this and to protect themselves.  The worlds of the beauty pageant and the training camp seem very far apart from each other.  

    Traditionally since India is a patriarchal society, women have limited choices in India.  Arranged marriages are very common and the man dictates whether or not the woman will work outside the home and what type of job.  Many female infants are given up for adoption or killed since males are preferred.  A second daughter can lead to the end of a marriage.  Some of the women from both sides of their cultural divide could have had their lives ended just after their birth.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

90 min, Doc directed by Nisha Pahuja with Pooja Chopra, Marc Robinson, Ankita Shorey, Ruhi Singh, Prachi Trivedi.

Note:  Imdb 6.7 out of 10, 100% critic 62% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Girl Model 2011

     Ashley Arbaugh is a former American model and her current job is scouting for young girls in Siberia.  She is paid for her expenses and she gets a commission for each girl selected for a Japanese modeling contract.  Her selection is Nadya, a 13-year-old with natural beauty and a desire to elevate her family from poverty.  Nadya has a very difficult time in Japan with her lack of knowledge of the language or English and she is homesick.  She connects with Madlen, another model and they bond over their common experiences.  There is a contract clause that says the girls can be sent home and could owe money to the agency.

     The practices used in this business are atrocious!  Girls only 13 are sent to another country on their own, told to say they are 15-years-old, their pictures are used and they aren’t paid.  When they go home, they owe money and wish they had not gone at all.  This is really child labor trafficking.  Ashley should go with them to help with the start of their careers and the contracts need to be changed.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

77 min, Doc directed by David Redmon, Ashley Sabin with Ashley Arbaugh, Nadya Vall, Madlen, Rachel Blais, Tigran Khachatrian.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 ½*, imdb 6.5 out of 10, 93% critic 60% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.