Crazy Heart 2009

    This movie is based on a novel written by Thomas Cobb.  Bad Blake is a broken-down and hard-living country music singer.   He’s had too many marriages, far too many years on the road and one too many drinks way too many times.  But, Bad Blake can't help but turn his life around with the help of Jean.  She is a journalist who discovers the real man behind the musician.

     Middle-aged musician Bad Blake has a failing career and a major drinking problem.  The excessive alcohol use is also contributing to the slide of his career.  This film is clearly aimed at adults unless teens have an interest in classic country music or actor Colin Farrell.  There is plenty of food for thought and some good music.  Some very strong language especially during the first half of the film.  Tons of drinking plus drunk driving.  Nothing turns around until the main character has an important wake-up call that sobers him up more ways than one!!  5* (I really liked this movie)

112 min, Drama directed and written by Scott Cooper and also written by Thomas Cobb with Jeff Bridge, James Keane, Anna Felix, Paul Herman, Tom Bower, Ryan Bingham, Beth Grant, Rick Dial, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Debrianna Mansini, Jerry Handy, Jack Nation, Ryil Adamson, J. Michael Oliva, David Manzanares.

Note:  Imdb 7.2* out of 10* with 83,647 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 90% with 210 critics 76% with 123,796 audience scores, Metacritic 83 out of 100 with 32 critic reviews, 7.5 out of 10 with 191 user scores, Roger Ebert 4*, RollingStone 3* out of 4* Peter Travers, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 1274 reviews, Common Sense Media Jeffrey M. Anderson age 14+, 3* out of 5*, 2* positive, 1* violence, 3* sex and language, 1* consumerism, 5* drinking, drugs & smoking.

Special Note:  Jeff Bridges initially turned down his role because it didn’t contain any music?  His friend T Bone Burnett convinced him to do it anyway.  Jeff Bridges and Colin Farrell did their own singing  with the assistance of voice coach Roger Love.  In preparation for the climactic concert scene, writer and director Scott Cooper approached country singer Toby Keith about filming a live segment of this film during Keith's half-time break in Albuquerque's Journal Pavilion.  Keith is thanked in the credits.  The production had ten minutes to film Bridges and Farrell performing in front of five cameras and an audience of 12,000 fans.  Cooper's insistence on the element of surprise paid off when the audience went ballistic upon discovering the unexpected stars in the guest spot.  Farrell's appearance on stage further fueled the mass hysteria as cell phone cameras lit up the auditorium.  The whole extravaganza was posted on YouTube within a matter of a few hours.

Mistakes:  When Bad Blake parks in front of his house after he gets home after his recovery he parks his car illegally?  He parks within three feet of the stop sign on the corner and this is a violation in most states of the United States?  The first time Bad Blake leaves Jean's house, the left front fender of the Suburban says “Silverado”.   The second time he leaves Jean's house, after a roll over accident, it says "Scottsdale" which means they used at least two trucks.  When Bad Blake jumps off stage to dance with a fan, he hurriedly puts his guitar back on to continue the song. The guitar strap is twisted but in the rest of the shots it is straightened out again?
 

Black Box 2020

     After losing his wife and his memory in a car accident six months ago, a single father undergoes an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is?  Nolan Wright’s wife was killed and Nolan received extensive brain damage in the accident.  He is trying to get his memories and his mind together for the sake of his daughter Ava.  She is almost like a very young mother to Nolan.  There are many things that he can’t remember and he also can’t keep track of ordinary daily events in his life.  Ava reminds him about appointments and picking her up from school.  Nolan is really trying everything he can to recover from his injuries and have a normal life.

    Nolan’s best friend Dr. Gary Yeboah has Nolan’s back and they talk about his recovery.  Gary is upbeat about Nolan’s efforts, he works in the hospital where Nolan is getting treatment and he understands the confusion of a brain injury.   Nolan is not a violent person and he is not even temperamental?  Everyday, he wakes up to see a hole in the wall where he is supposed to have punched it?  There are twists in this film that I didn’t see coming.  There are some science fiction elements and also some scenes verging on mild horror thrills!!   

     This movie has left out the gore and the blood but it has disturbing images plus a dark and  menacing atmosphere.  Most disturbing is the human-like monster that walks bent over backwards on all fours? Limbs bend in every direction along with the sounds of bones breaking?  This monster attacks, chokes and is included along with the memories Nolan is trying to rediscover.  There are also a few jump scares, a fistfight but it doesn't show any blows or kicks landing but a severe beating is implied and a bloody face is shown afterward.  Strong language is very rare and it is mild.  A man has a pack of cigarettes and his daughter tells him he doesn't smoke but this is part of his memory loss.  All main characters are Black and they are positive representations of affluent professionals.  There are strong bonds of family and friendships that are emphasized.  5* (I really liked this movie)

100 min, Mystery directed, written by Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour and also written by Stephen Herman with Mamoudou Athie, Phylicia Rashad, Amanda Christine, Tosin Morohunfola, Charmaine Bingwa, Troy James, Han Soto, Andrea Cohen, Gretchen Koerner, Donald Elise Watkins, Najah Bradley, Nyah Marie Johnson, Crystal Rae, Betsy Borrego, Justin David.

Note:  Imdb 6.1* out of 10* with 6783 reviews, empire online 3* out of 5* Al Horner, Roger Ebert 3* Nick Allen, indiewire Grade B- by Eric Kohn, Metacritic 62 out of 100 with 11 critics 6 out of 10 with 10 user scores, Common Sense Media review by Andrea Beach, 3* out of 5*, age 16+, 1* positive messages, drinking, drugs & smoking, 4* role models, violence, 3* language, Amazon 3.5* out of 5* with 24 ratings,  

Special Note:  Tosin Morohunfola and Troy James both have portrayed characters from DC and CW shows.  Morohunfola played Instant on Black Lightning and James played Peter Merkel/Ragdoll on The Flash.  This movie was produced by Blumhouse Productions and they are mainly known for horror films such as Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Sinister, The Purge, Oculus, The Gift, Split, Get Out and Happy Death.  I was very GLAD that this film was not as frightening as some of their films can be!!!

Knocked Up 2007

     When Alison Scott is promoted in her E! Television job, she goes to a night-club to celebrate with her older married sister Debbie.  Alison meets the pothead and reckless Ben Stone.  While having  small talk with Ben, Debbie's husband Pete calls her to tell her that their daughter has chicken pox.  Debbie leaves the night-club but Allison stays behind with Ben.  They are drinking and dancing all night.  She becomes completely wasted and they end up having a one night stand.  Ben does not use a condom and eight weeks later, Allison discovers that she is pregnant!!  She calls Ben and they decide to try to form a relationship and have the baby.   However, Ben must grow up first to raise a family of his own with Alison. 

 
     My first complaint about this film is the abrasiveness of the title because there are many other choices!!  What about This Could Happen to You or Drinking can Have Consequences for just two examples?  My second complaint is that the plot is very raunchy!!  What are the actual odds that Alison and Ben could be lasting and compatible lifetime partners?  

     This film has and has earned an R rating with drug use, strong language constantly, nudity and nonstop explicit conversations about sex.  There is a cavalier attitude toward casual sex, turning it into a spectator sport, glamorizing drug use, showcasing gratuitous female nudity and constant F bombs.  The only up side are a few warm moments, valuing life and family plus accepting responsibility for your mistakes.  

     Teenagers will want to see this but the main character and his roommates spend nearly all of their time high on marijuana.  The physiological and mental aspects of pregnancy are often discussed.  On the bright side, after watching all of this, it's a good bet that teens could be much less likely to risk having unprotected sex? They may even appreciate what their mothers went through during their birth?  It could also lead to discussions about going into adulthood and the complications of spontaneous sexual encounters?  3* (This movie is OK)

 
Note:  Imdb 6.9* out of 10* with 348,697 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 90% with 252 critics 83% with 2,084,946 audience scores, ReelViews 3 1/2* James Berardinelli, Common Sense Media Sandie Angulo Chen, 4* out of 5*, age 17+, 1* positive, role models, 5* sex, language, drinking, drugs & smoking, 3* consumerism, RollingStone 3 1/2* Peter Travers, The Guardian 4* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, 4.7* out of 5* with 91 ratings.  

Special Note:  The kids who play Debbie and Pete's children are the real-life children of Leslie Mann and her husband, director Judd Apatow.  The actors who play Ben's friends all keep their real first names for their character's names.  This movie was originally going to be a follow up to The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) with Seth Rogan and company reprising their roles as the Smart Tech team.   

Mistakes:  When Ben and Pete are in the Las Vegas hotel room, the Sands Hotel is seen out the window.  The Sands was demolished in 1996 to make way for the Venetian.  Some of the characters talk about seeing Spider-Man 3 but Knocked UP came out in theaters four weeks prior to this movie's release?  Later in the movie, Allison interviews celebrities at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards but this is old news and took place a year before this movie came out in theaters? 

Radioactive 2019

     This film is based upon a graphic novel written by Lauren Redniss titled Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout.  It is about the incredible true story of Marie Sklodowska-Curie and her Nobel Prize-winning work that changed the world.  This is director Marjane Satrapi's first film based on a graphic novel that she did not write.  Two of her films "Persepolis" and "Chicken with Plums" are based on graphic novels written solely by Redniss.  
Marie has a magnetic and brilliant personality plus she is a two-time Nobel Prize-winning physicist and chemist.  She is feisty and no-nonsense, fragile and impulsive working in a man’s world.  Curie is very smart, she knows what she is doing and what she wants to do.  She doesn’t let the men put her in their perceived place or station!!  The young Polish immigrant born Maria Sklodowska and the man who goes on to become her lab partner, husband and the father of her two daughters, French scientist Pierre Curie explained many technical things to each other (as well as their feelings).  

   Over time, the Curie’s attain acclaim and fame but they work very hard to reach these goals.  They discover two new elements they have named radium and polonium.  Plus, they have two daughters, Eve and Irene.  Despite their dual discoveries, only Pierre is accepting the Nobel prize in Stockholm in 1903, Marie is not allowed to attend the ceremony.  I found this film and the information about the Curie’s very interesting and informative.  

     In this film there is love and a steady, supportive relationship between Marie and Pierre.  He is heavily involved in her discoveries.  Marie is inspiring, displaying great compassion and sacrifice to help others during World War I.  There are themes of conflict, violence is alluded to throughout and the devastating effects of war are evident.  Marie's discoveries are used by others for destructive gains for atomic bombs and this is something that weighs heavily on her conscience.  Other uses are positive and the healing and diagnosis of illnesses.  Some characters suffer and die from radiation poisoning.  There's brief nudity when two characters run naked toward a lake and there is kissing. Characters drink and some background characters smoke.  5* (I really  liked this movie)
 

109 min, Bio directed by Marjane Satrapi and written by Jack Thorne with Rosamund Pike, Yvette Feuer, Mirjam Novak, Ralph Berkin, Sam Riley, Simon Russell BEale, Sian Brooke, Faye Bradbrook, Drew Jacoby, Aneurin Barnard, Harriet Turnbull, Georgina Rich, Elise Alexandre.

Note:  Imdb 6.2* out of 10* with 7288 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 61% with 142 critics 47% with 144 audience scores, Metacritic 56 out of 100 with 31 critics 5.7 out of 10 with 11 ratings, Roger Ebert Christy Lemire 2*, RollingStone 3 1/2* out of 5* Peter Travers, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Amazon 3* out of 5* with 1397 reviews, Common Sense Media Stefan Pape, age 13+, 2* out of 5*, 3* positive, violence, sex, 4* told models, 2* language, 1* drinking, drugs & smoking.


Special Note:  Rosamund Pike (Marie) and Harriet Turnbull (Young Marie) also starred as mother and daughter in the 2014 film, What We Did On Our Holiday.  Gabriel Lippmann was the doctoral advisor of Marie and Pierre.  Pierre was also the advisor of Paul Langevin.  Langevin, in turn, was the advisor of Irène and Frédéric Joliot-Curie.  Both the Curies experienced radium burns, accidentally and voluntarily, they were exposed to extensive doses of radiation while conducting their research.  They experienced radiation sickness and Marie Curie died of aplastic anemia in 1934.  Even now, all their papers from the 1890s and even her cookbooks are too dangerous to touch.  Their laboratory books are kept in special lead boxes and people who want to see them must wear protective clothing.  If Pierre Curie not been killed, it is likely that he would have eventually died of the effects of radiation the same as his wife, their daughter Irene, and her husband Frédéric Joliot.  Eve Curie Labouisse died at the age of 102, she was a journalist and she wrote a bestselling biography about her mother.
 

The New World 2005

     Captain Smith is spared a mutinous hanging sentence after Captain Newport's ship arrives in the year of 1607 to found Jamestown, an English colony in Virginia.  The initially friendly natives, who have no personal property concept, turn hostile after a 'theft' is 'punished' violently immediately.  During an armed exploration, Smith is captured but spared when the Chief's favorite daughter Pocahontas pleads for the stranger.  He soon becomes her lover and he learns to love their naive 'savage' way of harmonious life.  Ultimately, he returns to the grim fort where he would starve but Pocahontas has arranged for Indian generosity.  But, each side soon brands their own lover a traitor.  She is banished and he is flogged as an introduction to the life of a slave.  Changes happen again, leading Smith to accept a northern mission and Pocahontas to become anglicized.  Pocahontas becomes the mother of aristocratic John Rolfe's son and John is her new lover.

     The Indians stared in disbelief when they first saw the English ships.  The English were awed by the somber beauty of the new land and the strangeness of the people.  They called the Indians the Naturals but they didn’t really understand how well the term applied.  The Indians live and thrive because they submit to the realities of their land and the English nearly die because they are ignorant and arrogant.  Nature is in the foreground, instead of using it as a picturesque backdrop as other stories might have done.  Pocahontas is driven by curiosity about these strange visitors and empathy with their plight as strangers to the land.  She has admiration for Smith's reckless and intrepid courage.  She does not fall in love with him but she saves his life when he is about to killed by an order from her father as the chief.  Smith doesn't have regard for women and he is not fair with Pocahontas.  She later meets John Rolfe and in him she finds loyalty and honesty.

     The focus of this film is on a clash of civilizations.  European and Native Indian beginning in 1607.  In the new colony there is difficulty in intercultural communication.  There are battle scenes with guns, spear, tomahawks, explosions and bloody bodies.  There are long passages without language that might be dull for some younger viewers?  It does show the spirituality of the Native Americans, their integration with the natural world, family relationships, tribal life, generosity and intelligence.  Long nature scenes and the internal dialogs of Pocahontas and John Smith are the best parts of this film.  5* (I really liked this movie)

135 min, biography directed and written by Terrence Malick with Colin Farrell, Q’orianka Kilcher, Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale, August Schellenberg, Wes Studi, David Thewlis, York van Wageningen, Raoul Max Trujillo, Michael Greyeyes, Kalani Queypo, Noah Taylor.

Note:  Imdb 6.7 out of 10 with 82,292 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 63% with 188 critics 58% with 148,108 audience scores, Slant Magazine 4* Ed Gonzalez, Roger Ebert 4*,  Common Sense Media Cynthia Fuchs, 3* out of 5*, age 13+, 3* violence, Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 1615 reviews.

Special Note:  This is the second Pocahontas movie Christian Bale has been involved with.  He provided the voice for Thomas in the Disney animated film Pocahontas of 1995.  In an interview, Bale spoke of the eccentric directing styles of Terrence Malick.  Bale said that he wanted to see what Malick would do if he just walked out of a shot and towards the crew.  Malick followed Christian with the camera and as Bale put it, the crew were running?  They were diving behind bushes to get away from the camera.  Because of Malick’s habit of cutting and editing his films repeatedly, much of the music that James Horner wrote for this film never made it to the final cut except for a few fragments.  In an interview, Horner said that Malick loved his score but had no clue about what to do with it?  He concluded that working with Malick was "the most disappointing experience I've ever had with a man" and that "I never felt so letdown by a filmmaker in my life!!!"  

Mistakes:  In the early portion of the movie, the natives are shown harvesting corn (maize), the ears of the corn are far larger than a human hand.  At the time of the Jamestown colony, native corn was typically the size of a human thumb and rarely ever bigger.  Large ears of corn such as pictured in the movie are a product of seed selection and genetic research.  This mostly practiced beginning in the 1860s.  In the film, John Smith is seen wearing tattoos. This film is set in the early1600s and the practice of tattooing was abandoned in Europe at that time and was not readopted until the late 18th century.   A pier that is covered with wood boards shows signs of modern machining processes on them?  

The Girl 2012

     Ashley is single mother and she loses custody of her young son while struggling to make ends meet in Texas.  She is a 20-something mother and she is still reeling from her son's placement into Social Services custody.   She finally takes control of her own fate after meeting a desperate Mexican girl who lost her mother during a border crossing.  Ashley was sneaking Mexicans over the border into the US.  This is the first time she has attempted to make money in this dangerous way.  A surprise visit from her truck-driver father presents the idea of an opportunity to make some quick cash as a coyote.  

     She has recently lost her job at a big box store in Austin and she has an edge because she speaks Spanish.  In reality, Ashley doesn’t know what she is doing!!  She believes the Mexicans can wade across the river because it is at a low level.  When she returns to get them, she finds out that is not the case!!  Determined not to get involved, Ashley tries in vain to keep her distance from the girl.  Eventually she finds her conscience stirred by the innocent child's plight and abandoning her isn’t an option.  Over the next few days, Ashley joins the frightened child in attempting to locate her missing mother.

     I knew right away Ashley was taking a BIG chance smuggling people across the border.  Ever professionals have encountered problems doing this illegal activity.  I wanted to yell that she should not get involved and that I knew it would not end well.  Ashley yelled at her father when she found out he was smuggling Mexicans into the US in his semi-trailer.  He said it was no big deal and he wanted the extra money!!  Ashley should have stopped herself from this action when she saw sniffer dogs are used to find people hidden in vehicles!!!  3 1/2* (I liked this movie) 

95 min, Crime directed and written by David Riker with Abbie Cornish, Geoffrey Rivas, Austin West, Annalee Jefferies, Will Patton Giovanna Zacarias, Luci Christian, Harold Torres, Javier Zaragoza, Abel Lopez Marroquin, Angles Cruz, Maritza Santiago Hernandez.

Note:  Imdb 6.2 out of 10 with 1225 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 53% with 19 critics 45% with 363 audience scores, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 67 ratings, The Austin Chronicle 2 1/2* out of 5*, indiewire.com B- Rodrigo Perez.

Special Note:  There is another movie from 2012 with the same title about the working relationship of Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren.  Also, the 1998 film Laciudad told the story of four Hispanic immigrants living in New York City and it has many of the same themes.

House of Sand and Fog 2003

     This film is based on a novel written by Andre Dubus III.   Kathy is an emotionally broken woman.  She suddenly finds herself homeless after her house is wrongly repossessed and auctioned. Seeking respite from his marriage, Lester is a sympathetic sheriff's deputy and he comes to the aid of Kathy.  He also becomes intimately involved in her situation.  Soon, Behrani, a proud emigrant Iranian and his family move into the house.  They find their new lives burdened by harassment from the team of Lester and Kathy as they attempt to reclaim her former home.  The once prosperous Iranian colonel denies Kathy's pleas to get her house back.   He knows his recent purchase promises a profitable return and a better future for his adolescent son and his wife.  But latent consequences lie beneath Behrani's well intentioned plan.  Kathy's emotions spiral out of control and her actions spark a tragic chain of events.   Will anyone be unscathed in the struggles of the House of Sand and Fog .
     Kathy has experienced the breakup of her marriage and she retreats to her house.  She was left the house by her father and her brother in their wills.  For added insulation from the world she has started a practice of not opening her mail.  Then she endures this emotional drama between her family and another family over the struggle for ownership of her house.  The plot of this film very deep plus extremely dark and depressing.  Kathy sees her house as a refuge and she feels safe inside the house.  The fight between Kathy and Behrani isn’t about money but it is about a home and a retreat from the world.       
     This movie has extreme, graphic and tragic violence including murder, attempted and successful suicides, domestic abuse and an accidental shooting.  Characters drink and smoke, including an alcoholic character who ends a period of sobriety and returns to drink.  Characters use very strong language and there are many harsh and painful confrontations.  5* (I really liked this movie) 

126 min, Crime directed and written by Vadim Perelman and also written by Andre Dubus III and Shawn  Lawrence Otto with Jennifer Connelly, Ben Kingsley, Ron Eldard, Frances Fisher, Kim Dickens, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Jonathan Ahdout, Navi Rawat, Carlos Gomez, Kia Jam, Jaleh Modjallal, Samira Damavandi, Matthew Simonian, Namrata Singh Gujral, Nasser Faris.

Note:  Goodreads give the book 3.85* out of 5* with 126,026 ratings and 4100 reviews, Imdb 7.5 out of 64,807 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 74% with 182 critics 83% with 42,509 audience scores, Common Sense Media Nell Minow, age 17+, 4* out of 5*, 5* violence, sex, language, 3* drinking, drugs, smoking, Roger Ebert 4*, empireonline 3* out of 5* Angie Errigo, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 613 reviews.

Special Note:  Author Andre Dubus III received more than one hundred offers from movie studios who wanted to make his book into a movie.  Sir Ben Kingsley was given a copy of the novel by author Andre Dubus III’s wife.  This was before Ben was approached to star in the movie. 

Mistakes:  There is a boom mic clearly visible in numerous scenes near the beginning of the movie, it can be distracting because it is so visible unless it has been corrected before the DVD release?  The Newspaper Auction Notice: Seized Property for Sale reads "2BR", yet the man showing the house says it has three bedrooms?