Movie/TV Reviews

Susan Granger’s review of “Body of Lies” (Warner Bros.)

This debacle of an action-adventure proves that even teaming heavyweight actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe with stylish, big-budget “Black Hawk Down” director Ridley Scott doesn’t pay off when William Monahan’s espionage screenplay, based on a David Ignatius novel, goes AWOL. Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) is the Pentagon’s top spy in the Middle East. He speaks fluent Arabic and is such a personable fellow that even the most suspicious of our alleged allies seem to trust him. He’s an ‘operative’ of Langley-based Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), who tracks his every movement, via computer, and communicates constantly with him, using an always-reliable cell phone that never suffers the ‘out-of-range’ frustrations of Sprint, AT&T or Verizon. Ferris’s mission is to entrap the elusive jihadist leader Al-Saleem (Alon Aboutboul) %u2013 think Osama Bin Laden %u2013 who is masterminding seemingly random terrorist bombings. To do this, he must work with Jordan’s sophisticated Intelligence chief, Hani Salaam (Mark Strong), enlist a network of informers and invent a clever sting operation to smoke Al-Saleem out of his ‘safe house’ hideout. There are huge explosions, of course, as black SUVs careen through Third World bazaars. There are even awesome, high-tech sky-track surveillance shots that show how the CIA can monitor anything, everywhere, even your backyard barbecue. Problem is: nothing is emotionally convincing, even DiCaprio’s brief romantic involvement with the Iranian nurse (Golshifteh Farahani) who administers his weekly anti-rabies injections. Having sprouted a few mossy, unkempt whiskers to mask his still-baby face, DiCaprio flounders with the lack of subtext, while Crowe recites his lines by rote with a soft Southern drawl. Only Mark Strong’s performance is memorable. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Body of Lies” is a bloated, far-fetched 5, filled with two-and-a-half hours of meandering meaninglessness.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Secret Life of Bees” (Fox Searchlight)

When one of your favorite novels becomes a movie, it’s always a gamble whether the filmmaker’s vision will match the one that’s firmly embedded in your imagination. Fear not with Gina Prince-Bythewood’s entertaining, enlightening adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd’s award-winning best-seller. In rural South Carolina in the summer of 1964, just after President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law, troubled 14 year-old Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) runs away from her coldly abusive, widower father (Paul Bettany), dragging along her caretaker, Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), who has been assaulted by rednecks. Haunted by guilty memories of her mother, who died in a tragic accident when she was only four, Lily desperately tries to connect with the few maternal fragments she can piece together, seeking safety and shelter in Tiburon at the 28-acre farm of the cultured, honey-making Boatwright sisters. “Liftin’ someone’s heart, now that matters. The whole problem with people is they know what matters, but they don’t choose it,” muses nurturing August Boatwright (Queen Latifah), who makes sensitive Lily her bee-keeping apprentice in the Pepto-Bismol pink house she shares with her sisters: the warily independent cellist, June (Alicia Keys) and the vulnerable, simple-minded May (Sophie Okonedo). Lily’s also befriended by August’s earnest godson (Tristan Wilds) who yearns to be a lawyer. Screenwriter/director Gina Prince-Blythewood (“Love & Basketball”) retains all the gentle lyricism of the complex narrative and achieves a near-miracle of casting. Dakota Fanning exudes the subtle, emotion-stretching mastery and limber spontaneity that mark superb screen acting, while Sophie Okenedo and Paul Bettany give strong support. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Secret Life of Bees” is a life-affirming 8, an inspirational story about family, hope and love that tugs at your heartstrings.

Susan Granger’s dvd update for week of Friday, October 10th:

M. Night Shayamalan’s “The Happening” wants to be a cautionary eco-thriller based on an apocalyptic premise. Early one morning in Central Park, everyone suddenly becomes disoriented and suicidal. Panic spreads, so a Philadelphia science teacher (Mark Wahlberg) flees into the countryside with his wife (Zooey Deschanel) and friend (John Leguizamo). They’re on the run – but from what?
Stephen Rea stars in “The Devil’s Mercy,” a suspenseful, psychological thriller about a couple who move into a beautifully renovated apartment in an old, suburban Connecticut house, only to discover that evil can lie hidden behind a white picket fence.
TV writer Peter Tolan (“The Larry Sanders Show,” “Rescue Me”) strikes out with “Finding Amanda,” featuring Matthew Broderick as a once-successful writer whose marriage is floundering when he’s dispatched by his wife to Vegas to ‘rescue’ his 20 year-old niece (Brittany Snow).
Kids can travel without passports, spending time with “Families of Costa Rica,” the latest title in the award-winning “Families of the World” series, exploring the lives and cultures of children around the world. And “You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown,” a Peanuts classic about running for student body president, is now packaged with a bonus episode, “He’s a Bully, Charlie Brown.”
PICKS OF THE WEEK: “The Visitor” is Tom McCarthy’s sophisticated, compelling drama revolving around a 62 year-old Connecticut widower (Richard Jenkins) who finds a young couple has moved into his seldom-used Manhattan apartment; surprisingly, he allows them to stay and his consciousness is changed by this chance encounter. In a lighter vein, Adam Sandler’s “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan” is a subversively silly political satire about a legendary Israeli commando who flees to the United States with an old Paul Mitchell stylebook under his arm, hoping to become a hairdresser.

Susan Granger’s review of “Religulous” (Lionsgate Pictures)

“Politically Incorrect” humorist Bill Maher tackles the incendiary subject of God and religion, traveling around the world and interviewing people about their beliefs. Admittedly skeptical about a higher power, he incites incredulity and indignation.
His journey begins and ends at Megiddo, Israel, where believers say Armageddon will be waged, as Maher delves into his own childhood travails, having been raised with a Jewish mother and Catholic father, chatting with his mom, Julie, and sister, Kathy, about why his father left the Church, apparently over the issue of birth control.
Leaving his personal story behind, Maher questions a few figureheads of contemporary faith, like John Westcott of Exchange Ministries, who believes he can “convert” gay men, about why homosexuality is such a ?hot button’ issue since Jesus never mentions it in the New Testament. Maher then probes devoted truck drivers in North Carolina for ?proof’ that Jesus Christ ever lived and asks evangelical Senator Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), “Why is faith good?”
Televangelism takes a hypocritical hit, along with a Christian amusement park in Florida that re-enacts the crucifixion several times a day. Along with Judaism, Islam and mainstream Christianity, Maher also examines the basic tenets of Mormonism and Scientology and finds a senior Vatican priest who acknowledges the absurdity of some fundamental Catholic doctrines.
Some of Maher’s statistics are amazing: like, 16% of all Americans are adamantly non-religious. He cites this group as this country’s last great, untapped minority.
Directed by Larry Charles (“Borat”), the edgy, contentious, if over-long, put-down is punctuated with movie clips, newsreel footage and flippant subtitles. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Religulous” is a spiritually irreverent, sardonic 7, as Maher, the exasperated, agnostic prankster, makes the point that organized religion has caused more harm than good.

Susan Granger’s dvd update for week of Friday, October 3rd:

Judd Apatow’s gleefully raunchy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is an uproarious sex comedy about a struggling musician (Jason Segel) whose actress girlfriend (Kristen Bell) dumps him for an egotistical British rocker (Russell Brand). Courting emotional disaster, they all wind up at the Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii, tweaking romantic comedy clichés.
Jodie Hill’s off-kilter comedy “The Foot Fist Way” features Danny McBride as a swaggering-but-clueless tae kwon do teacher who discovers that his wife (Mary Jane Bostic) has been fooling around with his chief rival (Ben Best).
“Bigger, Stronger, Faster” is a new documentary that takes a wide-ranging look at steroid abuse, featuring interviews with gym junkies, medical experts and U.S. lawmakers, suggesting that part of the problem is the penchant for making scapegoats out of athletes like Carl Lewis, Ben Johnson and Floyd Landis when, in fact, steroids can be traced back to the American Olympic teams in the 1950s and 1960s.
“Deception” will deceive very few, as an all-too-obvious set-up leads to a forgone conclusion. It begins as an accountant (Ewan McGregor) is introduced to a mysterious sex club by his lawyer friend (Hugh Jackson), only to find himself the prime suspect in a multi-million dollar heist.
Optimistically positioned as the first in a series of kid-friendly supernatural mysteries, “Sarah Landon and The Paranormal Hour” features an inquisitive 17 year-old (Rissa Walters) who turns detective when visiting her late friend’s grandmother. Problem is: the acting is barely mediocre, the tone is often inappropriate and the cinematography is obviously amateurish.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Robert Downey Jr.’s performance is what elevates “Iron Man” above this summer’s other superhero movies. As arrogant billionaire playboy/weapons manufacturer Tony Stark, Downey demonstrates that there’s really a man with a soul propelling that special-effects suit.

Susan Granger’s review of “Appaloosa” (New Line Cinema/Warner Bros.)

Hollywood has been making Westerns for more years than there was a Wild West. Almost all of them take place in the years between the Civil War and the end of the 19th century – and “Appaloosa” continues the tradition.
Set in 1882 in the New Mexico territory, the story revolves around noble lawman Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and his soft-spoken deputy Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen), who are hired to bring to justice a powerful, ruthless copper mine-owner, Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons), whose outlaws have been living off the people of the town of Appaloosa “like coyotes off a dead buffalo carcass.”
As Hitch says philosophically: “Life has a way of making the foreseeable future that which never happens…and the unforeseeable that which your life becomes.”
Adapted by Robert Knott and director/star/producer Ed Harris from Robert Parker’s novel, it’s unusual in its inclusion of a pivotal female character, the charming Allison French (Renee Zellweger), in what is, basically, a rugged, male bonding tale about courage, integrity and camaraderie. Through their banter and silences, actions and re-actions, the depth and breadth of Cole and Hitch’s long-term friendship is revealed.
Having worked together in “A History of Violence,” Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris have mastered the art of subtle communication, amplifying the believability of their relationship which is tested by the distraction presented by the fashionable, piano-playing widow who arrives at the Boston House Hotel and Saloon with a dollar in her pocket and a story to tell.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Appaloosa” is an authentic 8, filled with cinematographer Dean Semler’s familiar Western iconography and production designer Waldemar Kalinwski’s carefully researched historical details, like Hitch’s cumbersome 8-gauge “punt gun”/“market gun,” which is technically a shotgun not a rifle.

Susan Granger’s review of “Blindness” (Miramax Films)

Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles (“The Constant Gardener,” “City of God”) has ambitiously adapted Nobel-Prize-winning author Jose Saramago’s apocalyptic allegory in which the residents of a deliberately unspecified but primarily English-speaking city are afflicted by a mysterious epidemic that allows them to see only a milky-white blur.
First to be infected is a driver (Yusuke Iseya) who goes blind behind the wheel of his car. After that, each person he encounters – his wife (Yoshino Kimura), the ophthalmologist (Mark Ruffalo), other patients in the doctor’s office – lose their sight. As panic quickly spreads, government troops herd the newly blind and helpless into an abandoned mental institution, where anarchy soon reigns. An amoral, opportunistic bartender (Gael Garcia Bernal) takes control of the limited food supply, viciously demanding valuables and sexual favors from his vulnerable victims. But inside the chaotic, quarantined hospital, one woman is surreptitiously watching. The doctor’s wife (Julianne Moore) has feigned her symptoms in order to stay with her frightened husband and, eventually, she is able to lead out a rag-tag group of survivors.
Scripted by Don McKellar (who plays a thief) and directed by Meirelles, who hovers between realism and fantasy, it dilutes Saramago’s searing social fable, which reflects our flawed power systems, cruel prejudices and human fragility. As a result, the plot becomes a pedestrian thriller with a distracting voiceover narration by Danny Glover: “I don’t think we went blind. I think we were always blind.”
While Meirelles crafts memorable imagery, evoking concentration camps and the AIDS epidemic, and Julianne Moore delivers a tenderly sympathetic performance, it seems like another version of “28 Days Later.” On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Blindness” is a dreary, symbolic 6, its significance undermined as unnamed characters cope with the inexplicable.

Susan Granger’s review of “Flash of Genius” (Universal)

This reality-based David vs. Goliath story shows how a determined college professor took on one of the most powerful corporations in the world: the Ford Motor Company.
Back in the 1960s, Wayne State University engineering teacher Robert Kearns (Greg Kinnear), working with a family friend, Gil Previck (Dermot Mulroney), invented the intermittent windshield wiper, a safety device utilizing three common electrical components – a capacitor, resistor and transistor – combined in unique manner that would eventually be used in cars around the world. Kearns developed his creation, “The Kearns Blinking Eye Motor,” and secured a patent – only to have it ‘stolen’ by Ford.
Furious at the injustice, Dr. Kearns launched a relentless, decades-long campaign to receive credit for his invention and an apology – a persistent crusade for recognition that would eventually cost him his marriage, career and sanity. And as he doggedly went through a series of attorneys, including Gregory Lawson (Alan Alda), that took its toll on his wife (Lauren Graham) and six kids. Eventually, Kearns decided to represent himself, taking the case to trial.
Based on John Seabrook’s 1993 New Yorker profile, screenwriter Philip Railsback and first-time director Marc Abraham, this science/technology tale has a potential dramatic premise that’s never fully developed, although Greg Kinnear’s terrific as the obsessive Kearns. The phrase “flash of genius” refers to a 1941 U.S. Supreme Court decision, which states that in order for a creation to quality as an invention, the inventor “must reveal a flash of creative genius, not merely the skill of the calling” that said product. The ambiguity of the word ‘invention,’ however, has been open to controversy.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Flash of Genius” is a gratifying, stubborn 7, exploring the price of an underdog Everyman victory.

Susan Granger’s dvd update for week of Friday, Sept. 26th:

David Schwimmer – a.k.a. Dr. Ross Geller on “Friends” – makes his directorial debut with “Run, Fat Boy, Run,” a British relationship comedy. Commitment-phobic, immature Dennis Doyle (Simon Pegg) is a big time loser, having left his pregnant fiancée (Thandie Newton) at the altar. Five years later, he wants to win her back, competing in a 26-mile charity marathon with her current suitor (Hank Azaria), an American hedge-fund trader.
With “Leatherheads,” George Clooney tries a throwback to the screwball genre with this sports comedy set in the 1920s, when America’s pro-football league was in its infancy. He plays an aging player who recruits a hotshot star/war hero (John Krasinski), hoping to revitalize the Duluth Bulldogs, a ragtag team of coal miners and farmers, and, inevitably, they become rivals for the affections of an intrepid newspaper reporter (Renee Zellweger).
Adapted from Stewart O’Nan’s 2003 novel, David Gordon Green’s subtle “Snow Angels,” featuring strong performances by Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell, is a poignant tale of love and loss, intertwining the lives of two small town couples and the difficulties they must face and overcome.
In the illogical “88 Minutes,” an FBI forensic psychiatrist (Al Pacino) receives a death threat claiming he has less than 90 minutes to live. Directed by Jon Avnet (“Righteous Kill”), it’s Pacino’s all-time career worst, leaving him ranting and running around trying to find the culprit.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis reunite for “Sex and the City: The Movie,” which, admittedly, is all about labels and love. Carrie’s planning her wedding to Mr. Big (Chris Noth); stressed-out Miranda’s discovering the perils of infidelity; Charlotte’s unexpectedly pregnant; and Samantha realizes that enduring love simply cannot replace the promiscuous sex she craves.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage)

Lady Diana Spencer was the direct descendant of glamorous, trend-setting Georgiana Spencer, Duchess of Devonshire, who was famously painted by Gainsborough.  Fittingly, Georgiana’s story begins in 1774 at Althorp, the family estate on which the late Princess of Wales is buried.
As a teenage socialite, Georgiana is betrothed to the much older William Cavendish, the fifth Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes), whom she barely knows. Assured by her manipulative mother (Charlotte Rampling) that the union is most advantageous, Georgiana subsequently has daughters but is unable to produce the son/heir her husband covets. As a result, she becomes trapped in a public ménage a trios, since her world-weary husband takes her opportunistic best friend, Lady Elizabeth Foster (Hayley Atwell), as his mistress at Devonshire House. Georgiana then seeks distraction in drink, drugs, gambling and an illicit affair with Lord Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper), the future Prime Minister.
Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, Anders Thomas Jensen and director Saul Dibb from Amanda Foreman’s best-selling biography, the film focuses far more on the visuals – the costumes and frippery of the period – than the inherent drama of Georgiana’s compelling dilemma, not unlike Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” (coincidentally, Georgiana was Marie Antoinette’s close friend.), barely grazing over the Duchess’s public support of Grey’s anti-slavery, pro-American, conservative Whig party.
Vivacious Keira Knightley is seductive but, as scripted, she is hardly the eloquent woman of letters described by Foreman as “a potent mix of charisma and vulnerability that made her irresistible to men and women alike.” Instead, she seems like a spoiled simpleton. While Ralph Fiennes is appropriately dour, plump Dominic Cooper is less than dashing as her ardent suitor. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Duchess” is a frivolous 4, diminishing its impact.