Movie Reviews - Black and Blue

Movie Reviews this week looks at the beautiful drama Black and Blue.

It tells the story of Amber, a teen having troubles at home with her mother, a meth addict, and her mother's boyfriend a violent drunk. We meet Amber at a music class, where she seem oblivious to the class, amidst the troubles she is having at home.

Soon afterwards she finds her mother unconscious from taking meth, and while her mother is recuperating in hospital, she is sent to stay with one of her relatives, but not before her teacher says goodbye to her with the gift of a lovely 1930's classic guitar. It turns out the life her relative leads is no different from the life Amber was having with her mother, and in the middle of the night she takes her sole belonging, the 1930's guitar and runs away.

Living on the streets Amber faces some of the dangers prevalent for anyone just made homeless, from the homeless people adamant she doesn't take any of their sleeping spaces, to the dangers often faced by single teens on the streets, fortunately for her she is protected from a terrible attack from some homeless vagrants, by a couple of street musicians she saw early on in the day, one of them notices her guitar and asks her if she can play, she says she can't and walks away. As fate would have it she soon befriends the street singers that helped her and their lead singer, namely Ryan played by Dennis Denicola, Teresa the lead singer of the group, played by another beautiful singer Carolina Hoyos, and Marco, played by Daniel Galo, Teresa notices the guitar she is carrying and asks her to play, she mentions she doesn't really know how to play it, but Teresa insists that this is the condition if she wants to hang around with them; she must play, and as if on cue, she plays a beautiful melody and sings too, to the amazement of all, and no doubt the audience too. Amber is played by the gorgeous and very talented Christine Evans (she has one of those dreamy voices, that is reminiscent of Alanis Morisette).

Amber befriends a local blues singer Billy, played magnificently by Zach Harmon, who she first meets wanting to sell the 1930's classic guitar to him to raise some money, Billy asks why on earth anybody would want to sell such a beautiful instrument, he fixes the loose strings on the guitar and plays a lovely song, and soon afterwards Amber asks him to teach her, which he is only too happy to do, it turns out Amber is looking for that father figure she has missed all her life, and Billy sees her as someone who needs guidance, which he is very happy to give.

Black and Blue is a beautiful tale of hope when all seems lost, both for Amber and her newly found companions. The songs and guitar melodies in Black and Blue are what makes this movie enchanting, and Christine Evans is a very talented singer and guitarist.

Movie Reviews is constantly updated with good reviews of great movies that are a must see.

Movie Reviews - $5 a Day

This is a charming movie about a street smart con-man and the relationship with his son.

It stars Christopher Walken (his performance in the Deer Hunter still remains legendary) as Nat Parker, who is using the system for his benefit, trying to patch his relationship with his son Ritchie played by Alessandro Nivola (Jurassic Park III).

We meet Ritchie at his place of work and soon we find out he is let go after the manager finds out he has a criminal past, he gets home only to find out his girlfriend Maggie played by the lovely Amanda Peet (The Whole Nine Yards) is leaving him, he happens to find a letter from his father that he had previously put in the trash. We find out that the two are estranged as Ritchie went to jail, taking the fall for a scam his father pulled, where he buys an automobile, replaces the part with junk takes it back to the salesman and gets a replacement saying the car he bought was nothing but junk. It turns out that one time the institution caught on, but his son's name was what was used on the paperwork, so Ritchie spends a considerable amount of time in jail for a crime his father committed, and he is none too pleased with his father about this.

Nat would like to make it up to him, and added the incentive that he is dying of a brain tumor, so Ritchie should come up and see him in an all expenses paid trip to Mexico where there is a new age treatment, that may or may not work, but after a while you realise, Nat simply wants to spend some time with his son.

The relationship between father and son is close, and you can tell immediately whatever bad feelings Ritchie had with his father, you know he can forgive him for anything, even when Ritchie finds out, it was his father who reported him to his place of work, that he had a criminal record, so he can be fired, as an impetus to get him to pay him a visit, as Nat puts it, the job was closing Ritchie in; he was too good for it.

On their road trip, Nat is in his element, with his social awareness able to get him into parties, and get many things for free, as he puts it you can survive on 5 dollars a day, hence the title. There is a brief cameo by Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct) as Dolores Jones, who is eternally grateful to Nat for helping her get her Rotary license. It turns out Dolores used to babysit for Ritchie, and Ritchie remembers her fondly as she was his first infatuation, but it seems she only has eyes for his father.

This is a very nice warm feeling of a movie, and Christopher Walken is his usual quirky self.

Movie Reviews - Rare Exports

A Christmas Tale instantly places itself alongside many of the cult Christmas classics such as A Christmas Story and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. This inventive Finnish production re-imagines the myth of Santa Claus into a dry and morbid, yet cheerfully sublime tale.

Young Pietari begins to notice a correlation between American excavators at a nearby mountain and recent st rage events happening around town such as mass reindeer killings and stolen radiators. The villagers rely on the reindeer for a living, and their future looks bleak.

This film will also find its way in more than just the cult Christmas classics, but in lists of both adults and children in the near future. The film is rather aware of itself, Pietari even acknowledges that he was more used to the popular American soda producer version of Santa, the holiday hero who brought presents and devoured cookies late at night. He was a symbol of commercialism. Instead, Rare Exports explores the idea that Santa was a bringer of discipline; including spankings and devouring children instead of cookies.

The film accomplishes exactly what it sets out to achieve, to be dark, charming, and uplifting. While this ridiculous tale pokes fun at the original myth of Santa and how his origin is deeply rooted in marketing as a economic strategy, the film does not deviate too far from this same premise toward the end, albeit in parallel with the film's wondrous twist.

The cinematography matches with the dry humor by portraying high production values. Crisp, bright whites from the snow and epic use of the widescreen frame. The low angle shots of the elves' feet offer a ominous mood, while the rest of the plot reveals their winkable beastly ways.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale is the holiday film for those who do not celebrate or enjoy the holidays. It is the perfect film to re-imagine the traditional conceptions of Satan Clause, turn it upside down, inside out, and regurgitate a fun, charming, morbidly dry, and wholly original film with high replay value. Do enjoy this film with others, as Rare Exports is a communal experience-the laughs and smiles should be enjoyed together.

Movie Reviews - The Blind Side

Movie Reviews this week looks at the Oscar winning biographical drama The Blind Side.

It is an absolutely charming story, of Leigh Anne Tuohy played by the lovely Sandra Bullock (Speed), and the story of her adopted son, and you can see immediately why she won the best actress Oscar.

She plays a conservative mother in a very nice and well-off neighbourhood, who sees Michael Oher played very convincingly by Quinton Aaron, one rainy night walking aimlessly, she asks her husband Sean played by Tim McGraw (Four Christmases), to stop the car, she asks him where he is heading seeing he is just in a t-shirt in the pouring rain, he says he is going to the gym, she asks him again why he is going to the gym, and tells him the gym closed a while back, and for him not to lie to her, he says he is simply going there because it is warm.

Prior to this, we are told the story of how Mike got into the school in the first place. The coach at this Christian school, Burt Cotton played charmingly as always by Ray McKinnon (Randy and the Mob) had been approached by a fellow to allow his son into the school, as well as Mike, the coach sees Mike and the man's son playing basketball and sees the potential of Mike making them famous on a sporting arena, so convinces the board that it is their Christian duty to let him in. However in class Mike seems distant minded, and all the teachers are worried as he seems the slowest in the class, except for one particular teacher Mrs. Bower played the lovely Kim Dickens (Hollow Man) who notices Mike remembers the majority of what the teachers are saying, as he is able to describe in his own words the grasp of what it is they are saying, but may not necessarily write it down as eloquently as they wanted. As all the teachers are discussing Mike's ability one day, wondering if he can write, Mrs. Bower shows them a note that Mike had written that had been thrown in the trash, speaking of his sadness and what the teachers expect of him, to do all the work alone.

Leigh asks where he lives, his parents, or grandparents, Mike shakes his head nonchalantly, and Leigh amazingly takes him to her home, with a mild confrontation with her husband as to how long Mike is going to stay, he asks "This is just for the one night"? Where Leigh nods absentmindedly, but the expression on her face is already thinking of much longer term.

Mike gets along with Leigh's two children, her son S.J. played very impressively by Jae Head, and her daughter Collins played by the adorable Lily Collins, Leigh asks her how she would feel if Mike moved in with them permanently, she nonchalantly agrees, and when Mike is asked how he would feel moving having Leigh and Sean as his legal guardians, he smiles and thought he was already part of the family.

The Blind Side turns out is a very beautiful movie, of acceptance and love that a young man needs, and the struggle one woman faces with social services, her social circles, and the community in trying to make one boy's life better, and what makes this movie even more amazing is this is a true story.

Movie Reviews is constantly updated with good reviews of great movies that are a must see.

Takers the Movie - Movie Reviews

This looks at the crime thriller Takers, with an all star cast starring Paul Walker (The Fast and the Furious) as John Rahway, the stalwart Idris Elba (Rock N Rolla) as Gordon Cozier, Michael Ealy (The Good Wife) as Jake Attica, Hayden Christiansen (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace) as A.J., Matt Dillion (Traffic) as Jack Welles, and an impressive performance by Chris Brown as Jesse Attica.

We join the movie as our protagonists are undergoing a bank robbery, that goes as smooth as they planned, leaving no trace as to their identities or who could have done the job, and they even have the courtesy to wave at the security camera (masked of course) and offer a signature salute. It is left to two cops Jack Welles and Eddie Hatcher played by Jay Hernandez (The Rookie) to figure out who carried out the robbery, with basically nothing else to go on except the heights of the culprits, and their gestures to the camera.

This is slightly different from other crime related movies, as with any good movie we feel empathy for the characters, as we get to know a little bit about their personal struggles, especially for Cozier, as he tries to look after his sister Naomi played by Marianne Jean-Baptiste (28 Days), fresh from rehab; amidst the job they are planning, a job that they unexpectedly have been asked to do, by one of their associates, no one in the group quite trusts, Dalonte Rivers, played very convincingly by T.I., who tells them of an opportunity he learnt of while in jail, with several millions to them to obtain, if it goes smoothly.

It turns out that the reason none in the group trusts Rivers, is five years ago he was caught and the time he has just spent in prison was as a direct result of the joint job he had with them, Rhaway assures him his takings from that job are in a savings account, and still good for collection, which Crozier and the others reckon, this is the only reason why he did not give them up.

We also get to see a little bit of the problems faced by the police force as they deal with some of the criminals, Welles as he tries to make time for his daughter, and deal with the case at hand, while Hatcher tries to explain to Welles his priorities are a little squinted.

Love interest for Jake is provided by the lovely Joe Saldana (forever in our minds as Neferti from Avatar) playing Lilly, this proves a little contested issue, as she was Dalonte's love interest before he went to prison, and has his sights on taking her back. There is a scene where Jake and Dalonte have a little confrontation in front of Lilly as Dalonte tries to reassert that she still has feelings for him in front of Lilly.

The acting in Takers is top notch and you will be on the edge of your seat to find out how it all onfolds.

Movie Reviews - The Hangover

This is one of the most extravagant, hilarious and crazy movie you will see all year, that is sure to hit a nerve with many of the audience. It did so well in the box office, a sequel is already being penned.

It stars Bradley Cooper (He's just not that into you) as Phil Wenneck a school teacher, along with Alan Garner (played by Zack Galifianakis, What happens in Vegas, the same deadpan hilarious humor he brought in What happens in Vegas, "want to party?" is evident here), who along with Stu Price(played by Ed Helms, Night of the museum battle of the Smithsonians) a somewhat cowardly individual being controlled by his aggressive fiancee, all plan a stag night for the hapless Doug Billings (played by Justin Bartha, National Treasure).

We join the cast as the make their get away from their normal lives to have a stag night to remember in Las Vegas, soon after we find them all (except the groom) in their hotel room, completely out of it, unable to recollect a single thing, and wondering why a tiger (yes a tiger) is in their bathroom, a naked man is locked in the boot of their car, and there is a baby in their hotel room.

This is one crazy comedy that leaves you trying to figure out what on earth happened the night before just as much as they do, they are cameo appearances from Mike Tyson (yes the Mike Tyson playing himself) as well as the lovable Heather Graham playing Jade, who has quite a night never to forget with the shy Stu Price, put in a difficult situation having to confront his controlling fiancee.

They are some hilarious segments that will have you rolling on the floor laughing, especially the ones including Mr Chow (played by Ken Jeong, Pineapple express).

Movie Reviews - 9

It tells the story of a post-apocalyptic world, where humanity has all been wiped out by the machines it created to help them, and the only remnants of humanity are stored in little gingerbread man toys, fabricated from clothing, buttons zips, and any material lying about the house, and designated numbers for each one made as their names, our protagonist is number nine.

It stars the voices of Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring) as Nine, Christopher Plummer (Dolores Clairbone) as One, the lovely Jennifer Connelly (A beautiful mind) as Seven, John C. Reilly (Step Brothers) as Five, Marin Landau (Ed Wood) as Two, and Crispin Glover (Charlie's Angels, Charlie's Angels Full Throttle) as Six.

We join our protagonist Nine as he awakens to life, without a voice, looking at his make-up consisting of house-hold items, old cloths, and a zipper which he is conscious of opening (which is a little strange, seeing that there is nothing inside), he sees a little talisman with strange objects on it and picks it up, puts it in his body, and goes out onto the world. The world is typical of a post-apocalyptic version, machinery strewn everywhere, and crumbled buildings littering the streets. He happens to bump into Two, who fixes his voice, and in so doing sees the talisman Nine has brought along with him, but just as Two is about to take him to a sanctuary, there are attacked by a malevolent machine, seizing Two and taking him away to it's lair, along with the much prized talisman.

As Nine tries to figure out how to save his new found friend, he meets others like himself, led by the careful One, and his body guard, who charades Nine for getting himself in trouble, there is a great exchange between Nine and One the voice of experience and survival, with the voice of youth and adventure. Despite One's warnings, Nine manages to convince Five to join him on a quest to save Two, it seems a daunting prospect, such small beings against a much powerful and stronger malevolent force, on their journey, they find out that the talisman is a lot more powerful than they ever thought, but is there any hope for them or their remnants?

This is a very enjoyable animated feature film, with brilliant scenery throughout, and a gripping storyline equally well suited to children as well as adults, with the suspense beautiful captured especially for an animated movie.

Movie Reviews - Wonderful World

Movie Reviews this week looks at the romantic drama Wonderful World. This is a very modern slant on the romantic movie theme. It stars Matthew Broderick (Godzilla), as Ben Singer, a Proofreader at a large firm, who is a little disillusioned at how his life is turning out.

It turns out he was very happy in his previous vocation as a children's folk singer (and I must say he does look adept at playing the guitar), who had an album, but who has abandoned that life to follow something he is not happy doing, he is also divorced, and earlier on when he comes to pick up his daughter Sandra played by the lovely Jodelle Ferland (The Messengers) for their regular get together, you realise he is out of touch with her too.

There is some redemption for Ben, in the form of his charismatic flatmate from Senegal Ibu, played by Michael Kenneth Williams (The Philanthropist), through their usual chess matches, where Ben inevitably loses, Ibu tries to give him some life hints, especially in regards to finding romance, he even offers to go on a date as his wingman.

Matters come to a cross road, when Ibu, who is diabetic, collapses, while Ben tries desperately to get him to the hospital, only to find his car is being towed away, after a neighbour complained about how long it took him to get out of the drive, due to his parking. There was an earlier scene where the neighbour confronts Ben, but he simply dismisses the neighbour's concern as not vitally important.

Luckily they get to the hospital on time, but Ibu slips into a diabetic coma, Ben is asked if Ibu has any relatives, Ben recalls he often talks about his sister, Khadi played by the gorgeous Sanaa Lathan (Alien Vs. Predator, with an equally impressive Senegalese accent), so Ben gets a message to her. She comes to America, and she is just as charming and charismatic as Ibu, Ben inevitably falls for her, there is a comical scene where Khadi does a ritual to contact their ancestors to help Ibu get better, after doing some of the rituals, Khadi suggests they close their eyes, Ben takes this as a hint she wants a kiss, only to be fended off that the ritual is not complete, and they have to leave the room.

It is a somewhat convoluted love story, and friendship amidst appreciating the diversity of humanity.

Movie Reviews is constantly updated with great reviews of good movies that are a must see.