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Review: Georgia Rules

By Emma Carroll

All of you folks planning to not see this movie because it stars Lindsey Lohan, don’t make that your reason. And all of you folks planning to see it because she stars in it – be ready for a surprise! This is not your typical Lindsey Lohan flick. Take it from the two guys who were sitting next to me and completely shocked that it wasn’t a “teeny-bopper” flick. “It was really intense!” said one. I agree. Although I knew Lohan had some acting chops after seeing her in Prairie Home Companion, Georgia Rule confirmed my suspicions.


Jane Fonda and Lindsey Lohan in Georgia Rule

This assumed “chick flick” stars Lohan as Rachel, a troubled teen who has been dragged from San Francisco to Idaho, “The land of the famous potato”, where resides her strict grandmother (Jane Fonda). Rachel’s mother (Felicity Huffman) no longer wants to deal with her daughter’s drug-induced mendacity, and so she places her in Georgia’s care. In Small-Podunk-Town, Idaho, Rachel befriends a couple of local townsmen with her charmingly seductive ways. Dermott Mulroney plays Simon, a local veterinarian/doctor who doesn’t have a license to practice on humans. While working for him, Rachel discovers that his wife and child have died in a car accident. While discussing this topic Rachel admits something to him, which he then proceeds to tell her grandmother who then tells her mother. I will not tell you readers what she admitted to him - this would betray a very shocking moment in the film. I, along with many others in the theater, was quite caught off guard by her confession. Once opened, the confession can of worms spreads and wreaks havoc on her already weak family ties.

One of the deeper themes to Georgia Rule is the difference between truths and lies. Rachel has always lied to her mother and stepfather. Simon tells her that she can no longer tell the difference between truth and lie and neither can the audience. Throughout the movie, the audience is pulled back and forth between belief and doubt in the sincerity of Rachel’s character. The viewer cannot be sure, until all is revealed, whether or not she is lying or telling the truth about her ordeal. Meanwhile, the characters within the film are torn between whether or not to believe her story as well.

Though the subject matter here is heavy, the writers impressively interspersed comedy with weighty content. In fact, the movie is quite funny despite the gravity of the topic. The quick exchange between laughs and serious moments threw my fellow audience members off at first. This is what made Rachel’s initial admission so shocking. You are laughing one minute and the next it is all seriousness. Still, the writers used comedy very strategically to lighten the tone, never awkwardly. There was always a chuckle within the tears, and many all out guffaws. Touching on the humor in every situation makes the characters even more enchanting than they already are.

Lohan was excellent in a hefty role. This is a new challenge for her, which she accomplishes well. This deeper side of Lohan has much to admire and I hope to see her in more like this. Of course, Huffman and Fonda shine, but especially Fonda as the tough rule hungry mother/grandmother.

Georgia Rule was more of a surprise than I can say. It was wonderful and I think it will be this summer’s sleeper Thelma and Louise. Even the guys that I was with enjoyed it, and that’s saying something for a “chick flick”! See it. I give it an A-.

Review: Spider-Man 3

By Emma Carroll

The first release of the summer blockbusters, the much anticipated (and much hyped) Spider-Man 3 fell a little shy of my expectations. This episode of the Spider-Man trilogy is releasing in iMax as well as in 35mm. I can imagine that seeing a Spider-Man film on an iMax screen would be amazing, but it has to have the action sequences to justify needing an iMax screen. If you’re just watching a romantic comedy, then spending the extra few bucks isn’t really worth it. I did not get to see Spidey on an iMax, and thought it was definitely exciting to see it on the big screen; I still felt that the romance and relationships far overshadowed the Spidey action sequences.

Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man
The darkest of the three Spider-Man flicks, the third deals much more with wrapping up the details of the Peter/MJ, Peter/Harry and Peter/Uncle Ben/Flint Marko relationships than sending the audience into topsy-turvy Spidey-esque fight sequences. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great sequences. My favorite was the early but brief mini battle between Peter and The New Goblin/Harry, during which both characters struggle to stay a-flight while speeding through the alleys of New York City.

After this point, the movie dove into the drama genre, breaking here and there with a bit of action. Now don’t get me wrong, the story was smooth and interesting. There was just far more character development than there was action. Character development is all fine and good in an action flick, it makes the story more interesting, but this episode of Spider-Man lost a bit of the balance that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The plot, in fact, was great. I really enjoyed the story; it was just expecting more on the front of grand battle sequences.

One part of the film that brought a different, surprising, and quite laughable aspect as a release from the romance and drama, were the antics resulting from the effects of the alien-ized suit. When Peter starts wearing the black suit about halfway through the film, he begins to do some things that Tobey McGuire might not be quite cut out to do. Although the frolics caused by the black suit are quite hilarious, they do begin to get a little ridiculous. I mean, I love short white men doing pelvic thrusts in the middle of the street as much as the next girl – but Tobey McGuire, I much prefer his brooding boyishness to cringe-worthy dancing.

In addition to that, I wasn’t sure at first if I was going to buy into this “alien from another planet takes over Spidey’s suit situation. It seemed a little off - as if it didn’t fit in with the other two chapters of the Spidey Saga. When I think back on the other two films, everything that happened to create villains, and Spider-Man, was somewhat otherworldly. Granted, they were mostly chemically related phenomena, and therefore “easily” explained by physics, not from other planets. This was the reason that I first found it hard to believe that the suite was taken over by an alien life form. I do not pretend to be a Spider-Man comic aficionado, but I didn’t see how aliens from another planet fit in with the comic origins of the story. However, this was how Venom was created - so it must be in there somewhere.

On that subject, Topher Grace was fabulous as Venom/Eddie Brock. As a new character coming into an old cast, he fit right in. His re-creation of the evil Venom was positively creepy. I have to give some props there to the special effects artists as well, for making him visually grating as well, like fingers on a chalkboard incarnate.

One more thing, I did feel a little patronized at the beginning of the flick, when the director decided to rehash the previous two films in visual during an overlong opening credits sequence. It became a bit cheesy and cheapened it a bit, as if the director didn’t think we could remember what had happened in the story up to this point.

When it comes down to it, Spider-Man 3 is a well-done, enjoyable movie. It is not a typical action film, and it's not what people will expect from the trilogy. Except for the fact that everything was nicely wrapped-up in the end, I felt like it was The Empire Strikes Back of the Spider-Man films: dark and evil infested. I certainly recommend the film to everyone, but just be forewarned, it’s not what the hype would have you expect!

Reivew: Hot Fuzz

By Ben Sweeney

Director Edgar Wright recently said that he and writing partner Simon Pegg revealed the title of their new film Hot Fuzz too early. The script had yet to be written but already the internet was clamoring for a buddy cop film from the creators of Shaun of the Dead (and the amazing BBC sitcom Spaced). He said he felt pressured to deliver this unrealized film and almost abandoned the idea. Thankfully he didn’t. Hot Fuzz delivers on all of the hype and promise built up around the fantastically silly title.

Nick Frost, Simon Pegg and cohorts in Hot Fuzz

At a recent advance screening Wright described the mood of Hot Fuzz as “Agatha Christie being ridden roughly from behind by Michael Bay.” The film does for police action films what Shaun of the Dead did for zombie flicks and romantic comedies; parodying the source material while simultaneously glorifying and reveling in a deep love for it. Hot Fuzz is equal parts comedy and action flick and neither characteristic falls short of the mark.

The film begins with a montage describing Sergeant Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) as a by the book, zero tolerance, London super cop. He is so good that he makes the rest of the force look bad in comparison, so his superiors (Bill Nighy, Martin Freeman, and Steve Coogan in the first of many cameos by some of England’s top comedic actors) transfer him to the sleepy country village of Sanford to get him out of the way. There he is partnered with Danny Butterman (Nick Frost, also of Shaun of the Dead and Spaced), the bumbling son of the local police chief (Jim Broadbent), and meets the rest of Sanford’s finest. The local police force is completely inactive and totally ambivalent to minor infractions like underage drinking and public urination. He immediately shakes things up and ends up arresting half the town on his first night only to be stymied by the chief’s insistence that a good talking to and maybe some ice cream can solve any problem.

Sanford’s police force is a jumble of great characters but the highlight of Angel’s new colleagues are the Andys (played by Paddy Considine and Rafe Spall), a pair of inspectors who live to antagonize Angel and Danny with juvenile taunts and practical jokes. The mustachioed pair steal every scene they’re in and provide some great comedic interactions with our heroes. Sanford is also populated with a large cast made up of some great genre icons like Billie Whitelaw (The Omen), Edward Woodward (The Wicker Man), Paul Freeman (Raiders of the Lost Ark), and the amazing Timothy Dalton. Dalton plays the overly sinister supermarket owner and is terrifically funny in all of his scenes.

From here the film follows typical buddy cop formula as Angel and Danny learn to work together and become friends while trying to decipher the mysterious deaths of some of the village’s prominent citizens. While the mystery and action pieces are more than effective, this journey from ill suited partners to good friends is the real heart of the movie. The characters are up there with all those iconic duos we all know and love: Riggs and Murtaugh, Tango & Cash, Die Hard and Carl Winslow. Danny is obsessed with the very action movies Hot Fuzz pays tribute to (especially Point Break and Bad Boys II and many of the movie’s homages come from these two films) and his idea of police work is firmly imbedded in their world. He shows Angel that sometimes the rules need to be broken.

If there is one thing Hot Fuzz has going for it before its release, it’s hype. Shaun of the Dead was an instant cult classic in every way and its rabid fan base has been clamoring for its follow-up. I always get nervous when expectations get this high. I can safely say, however, that Hot Fuzz not only meets the expectations, it surpasses them. I’m going out on a limb here (and I should probably wait till I’ve seen it again to make such audacious claims) but Wright, Pegg, and Frost just might have one-upped themselves. We’ll see.

Review: The Hoax

By Emma Carroll

I’ll admit, in some ways I am not the best person to be discussing The Hoax. I know very little about politics in general, let alone the politics of the early 1970’s during the Nixon administration. I know the gist of things involving Nixon’s impeachment and the Watergate scandal but details are another thing all together. I had never heard of Clifford Irving before and I was unaware that this movie is based on his book. And everything I know about Howard Hughes is from the movie Aviator. In fact, when I left the theater I had to call my father to ask him if all of this really happened. I went into this movie totally blind. However, if you look at it from the opposite perspective, this makes me the perfect person to discuss this film, as it’s own entity, just as it is.

The Hoax as I mentioned is based on the book by the same name by Clifford Irving. As it turns out, Irving was a great con man, though that is not clear in the film. His person is re-created by Richard Gere (Chicago), who does a wonderful job playing two characters: Irving and Irving’s vision of Howard Hughes. The Hoax is actually an autobiographical depiction of Irving’s attempt to con the publishing giant McGraw-Hill into believing that he had been contacted by reclusive multi-millionaire Howard Hughes to contract Irving to write his autobiography before he died – an endeavor that ultimately landed him in prison for 14 months. In essence, the idea of this is entirely unbelievable. Howard Hughes had not contacted anyone by anything other than memo, and no one outside of his own close trusted staff. But that in fact was what made Irving’s scheme plausible. Hughes would not be available to comment in person either for or against Irving’s story, so all Irving had to do was imitate him, in writing and in voice. He enlisted the help of his best friend and author, Richard Suskind (Alfred Molina) in his machinations, along with his wife Edith, played by Marcia Gay Harden.

As his ruse progressed he eventually found himself becoming Hughes. He played the part while recording pieces of the man’s life story onto audiotape, dressing like him and even drawing a mustache on his face while he spoke as if he were Hughes himself. Irving referred to Mr. Hughes as Howard like they were old pals, though not even Hughes’ most trusted associates used anything other than his surname. Irving even began to believe his own forgery so much that he started having hallucinations.

On another plot level, and what interested me most (and also confused me most!), was how everything involved in the development of Irving’s book tied into the politics of the time. The film takes place during the final months of the Nixon administration. As Irving is building his story, in the background the country is in turmoil. I will not go in to detail in case the reader does not know the historical facts. But the revelation at the end of the film is quite the shocker! It was this that had me leaving the theater asking, “are these events real?”

But I haven’t yet said how I felt about this movie. As someone who was ignorant to the facts, I was enthralled. Richard Gere brought a real life to the character, true or not. I do love conspiracies, and that is what this was. The story itself was of course fascinating, and the acting and direction made the truth of it seem both real and fanciful at the same time. After all, unbelievable reality of these events is the stuff movies are made of.

Review: Disturbia

By Penina Wiesman

Let's get one thing straight. To redo an Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece, you need to possess the guts and skill worthy of such a task. The former is easy to come by in Hollywood. The latter, not so much. As a remake of Hitchcock's much parodied Rear Window, Disturbia is equally amateurish on both counts.

Sarah Roemer and Shia LaBeouf in Disturbia
The basic storyline is the same. Man confined to his home entertains himself by peeping at his neighbors and their private lives, until one day, he sees one of them commit an atrocious crime. Everyone around him refuses to believe him, chalking his suspicions up to isolation-induced paranoia, which forces him to take matters into his own hands. Disturbia dunks this classic plot in the fountain of privileged-yet-troubled youth. Instead of Jimmy Stewart's broken leg due to journalistic bravado, Kale (whose similarly unfortunate real name, Shia LeBeouf, is also related to cuisine) is a suburban teenager under house arrest for a rather unheroic assault against one of his teachers. As an additional punishment (in case you were wondering what could be worse for a teenager than being stuck at home all summer long), his mother takes away his xbox and itunes, and literally cuts off his cable supply. All he has left now is a bedroom the size of my whole apartment and enough high-tech surveillance equipment to be in an unmarked van across the street. I think maybe there's a tear in my eye, but it's just from the stench of entitlement.

Further attempts to jazz up the movie for the young and the hormonal adds banal teenage conflict and unnecessary violence that are perfect for an adolescent audience, but painful for the rest of humanity. In typical teen-movie fashion, Kale notices the family moving in next door have a hot (of course) teen-aged daughter Ashley (Sarah Roemer), Disturbia's take on the Hitchcock Blonde. Kale and his doofus sidekick Ronnie (Aaron Yoo) watch Ashley like a couple of ten-year olds who just figured out how to access the blocked cable channels. Ashley herself spends her time doing yoga in a skimpy outfit with the blinds wide open, and swimming in the back yard in an even skimpier bikini. The trio's biggest problems (aside from the killer living one yard over) involve teen-age identity woes, house party drama, and feuds with the neighborhood preteens. There should be a rating for a film like this, pandering exclusively to the teen-angst set. Maybe something like DB-19 (Don't Bother if over the age of 19).

Aside from a few moments of anxiety, Disturbia is unimpressive in just about every way. Don't misunderstand me: the movie's plot is smooth (although that's mostly due to Hitchcock's material), and it has some well-timed tension, plus the requisite creepy soundtrack. Thankfully, this wasn't The Covenant. However, instead of the usual whirlwind of ideas warring in my head when leaving the theater, this time there was nothing. There wasn't even the residue of an entertaining scene or a noteworthy line. I had even forgotten the title. I had to look it up when I got home. It's as if director D. J. Caruso had used his movie to suck my synapses dry. Disturbia not only left me with no mental fodder, it also managed to remove all presence of itself in my brain.

David Morse in Disturbia
The beauty of Hitchcock was that he was able to keep us on the edge of our seats without graphic depictions of violence, sex, or nudity. Sure, he toed the line a bit, but he was still shackled by the puritan production code that restricted all theatrical releases in those days, which is what made his skill so sharp. But today's desensitized youth demand their entertainment to be mindless and handed to them on a silver platter. This is one of the few places where Disturbia succeeds.

The worst feeling in every twenty-something's life is when she realizes she's not on the pulse of youth culture anymore. Sitting in the darkened theater watching Disturbia, that feeling overtook me. I felt closer to Kale's mom Julie (Carrie-Ann Moss, sans the leather jumpsuit and sunglasses) than any of the other characters, silently cheering when she cut her son's cable wire (you gotta teach them youngsters discipline!). My favorite part (according to my notes) was when Ashley used the word “gnarly,” mostly because it was slang that I recognized from my own totally awesome youth. The bottom line was I was too old to be watching this movie. If you're young, full of hormones, and like you're movies so easy to digest you need Immodium, you will most likely enjoy Disturbia. However, if you left the high school social sphere more than five years ago, DB.

Exclusive Photo: Winona Ryder in The Ten

A little something for all of you to have a look at. Here's Winona Ryder as Kelly, along with her friend Gary, in the forthcoming comedy The Ten.



The Ten will premiere in the New England area on April 28th at the Boston Independent Film Festival. Click here for details.

Review: Knocked Up

By Emma Carroll

Although Knocked Up is hilariously funny, the entire movie I felt like something wasn’t quite right. I was laughing but the laughs didn’t feel like the jovial laugh that I got from There’s Something About Mary or Euro Trip. The thing is, the subject matter of Knocked Up is incredibly serious. This movie makes light of a situation that is not funny to be in. The writers accomplished this feat quite well, but deep down, while the audience is laughing, there’s a little twinge in your heart where the viewer realizes how awful it would be to land in Alison’s dilemma.

Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogan in Knocked Up
“Marriage is just an unfunny, never-ending version of Everybody Loves Raymond.” The writing for Knocked Up was truly fabulous. There were so many one-liners that should become classic quotes. It is the story of Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl of Grey’s Anatomy) who has a great job and a happy life. Until she meets stoner/pretend website designer Ben Stone (Seth Rogan of 40 Year Old Virgin) one night in a bar and, drunkenly, ends up sleeping with him – unprotected. She finds out how really mismatched they are the next morning; however, the result of this one-night-stand is growing inside of her.

When she finds out she is pregnant and decides to keep the baby, she calls Ben, who is determined to help her raise the child. From this point they try to build a relationship together. Meanwhile, Alison is living with her sister Debbie (Leslie Mann, 40 Year Old Virgin), and watching her marriage with husband Pete (Paul Rudd, Friends) deteriorate.

One thing that I must warn viewers about, there is some graphic footage that I don’t think anyone wants to see in a movie. I don’t want to give too much away but be prepared for “TMI” near the end of the movie, and not just once.

Every step of the way this movie is funny. Of course there was the obvious hilarity of Ben’s stoner friends, but I thought Paul Rudd’s subtler comedy was much more enticing. Most of the funniest lines were his. When it comes to comedy, Knocked Up trumped its predecessor 40 Year Old Virgin. I know there are probably some Virgin fans out there who are going to yell at me for saying that, but I definitely laughed way more during Knocked Up. However, despite the belly shaking laughs, I continued to feel mildly uncomfortable throughout the film. I realized post-viewing this discomfort was due the seriousness of the situation and the struggles between both couples. My laughs were light, loud and appropriate, but they were lacking in spirit. I could hear this in the laughs of others as well. Still, the writers avoided letting things get too dramatic and added the timely joke to lighten things up.

Knocked Up is a hard movie to grade. On the one hand it was spectacularly funny, but on the other, the subject matter tainted the comedy somewhat. It was a difficult endeavor for the writers to undertake, and yet, I feel that they were successful in making people laugh at a situation that is anything but funny. The question there becomes whether or not it is a tasteful result. I say it is. The actors and direction made the action very real, perhaps why there is that undercurrent of discomfort. The humor was fit in well with the every day trials of the characters. I did find it difficult to think that a girl like Katherine Heigl would ever go for a guy like Seth Rogan, even if she were drunk – but I suppose stranger things have happened. Nonetheless, the production team was successful in making this story lifelike, yet funny without being overly crass, despite the final sequence. However, I don’t recommend it for the older crowd. This is definitely a college age to mid-to-late 20’s type of movie. I give it a B average for all of its ups and downs.

Review: Pride

By Emma Carroll

When I saw Pride last night I had one of those amazing movie experiences one wishes they had more often. The theater was not packed, but the audience was enthusiastic. It was one of those theater encounters that let me know - the world’s joy in going to the movie theater will never go away. Last night, my fellow viewers were swept up into the movie. Cheers erupted from the audience when the team was successful, like real cheers and applause, not just the random halfhearted clap here and a “WOO!” there. It was the real thing, like we were all actually at the swim meets. This is what makes going to the movies so wonderful. And when a movie can bring this out in its audience, its success is clear.

Terrence Howard in Lionsgates' Pride
Pride is the story of the life of Jim Ellis. He comes to Philadelphia looking for a job in teaching but his skin color prevents the respect that he deserves and ends up insulted and at the unemployment agency. He is sent by the city to close up the Philadelphia Department of Recreation building and while he is working, discovers the pool. As he begins to train local youths to swim and then to be a team, he struggles against racism and the city as they continue to threaten to close the building down. The whole time building to the typical decision-making meet at Baltimore State. Although the plot is a bit contrived, resembling that of similar sports movies (Remember the Titans comes to mind), it doesn’t seem to matter here. This is the true to life story of Jim Ellis and the movie works while not straying far from his real life
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In my opinion, Pride was definitely enjoyable and exhilarating. Some say swimming is not an exciting sport and therefore difficult to make exciting, but I disagree. I often find myself caught up in the Olympic swimming races. When you are eager for someone to win, anything can be nerve racking. The director of Pride, Sunu Gonera, made swimming an art. His camera angles, above and below the water, showed the beauty of these people “owning the water”. The intensity of the final sequence was made even more suspenseful by cutting back to the outside of the building where only faint sounds of the race could be heard.

I must say though, with all the thrill of the final quarter of the movie, it did start a little slow. But the excitement certainly builds as it moves. What keeps it going early on is the comedy. Bernie Mac plays the Head of Maintenance for the Philadelphia Department of Recreation (P.D.R.), and although he is a straight character in this movie, his lines definitely have a punch! I have not experienced Bernie Mac in many performances, and he plays this character well. I was very impressed by his breadth. I am intrigued by what else he can do! The kids on the swim team also provided some great comedic moments. They had some of the best lines in the show, and they delivered them like seasoned comedians.


Terrance Howard (Crash, Ray) plays Jim Ellis and he becomes the role. Howard is amazing and leads the cast with his brilliant performance.

Something that caught me a little off guard was some of the language. Many of the one liners seemed to be written in as if in today’s slang, which along with the colloquialisms made me wonder if they really spoke in the 70’s so similarly to people today.

As for the time period, one thing I can say for the costumes in this movie: I’m sure glad I didn’t live in the 70’s! But even with the tackiness of green paisley shirts the costumes were well done, perhaps a little over the top with the giant Afros and enormous earrings. Although, the main characters’ garb was a bit subtler.

I definitely have to give last night an A for the experience and a B for the movie. It was definitely one of those occasions that renew my faith. This is why I love movies.