Movie/TV Reviews

Susan Granger’s review of “WALL – E” (Disney/Pixar)

What if mankind had to leave Earth and somebody forgot to turn off the last robot?
That’s why – in the year 2700 – little WALL-E, a Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth-Class, is still trash-compacting. Day-after-day, he dutifully glides through the toxic, post-apocalyptic wasteland, sifting through junk, forming it into neat cubes and neatly piling the detritus into scrap-skyscrapers. He’s lonely with only a cockroach for company, but he’s assembled a comfy home, filled with curious treasures, like Zippo lighters, Rubik’s Cubes and an old VHS tape of the 1969 musical “Hello, Dolly!”
One day, he finds a little green sprout. And, soon after, the Spaceship Axiom lands, depositing EVE (Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator), a sleek, egg-shaped probe-droid searching for evidence that Earth is ready for re-colonization. EVE so entrances WALL-E that he hitches a ride back with her, traveling out into a distant galaxy, where he teaches the spaceship’s plump, pear-shaped, pampered passengers, who have been reclining indolently in high-tech deck chairs for 700 years, how to be human again.
Writer/director David Stanton’s (“Finding Nemo”) Pixar animators are extraordinary, elegantly conveying complex thoughts, an intricate storyline and a wide range of emotions with minimal dialogue. With his sad binocular eyes and tank-tread feet, WALL-E is immediately endearing; his expressive, metallic speech comes via Ben Buritt, the sound designer who ‘voiced’ Chewbacca, R2D2, and E.T.
WALL-E’s cautionary environmental message rings green and clear, triumphing over the rampant consumerism with great credit to Thomas Newman’s musical score which is evocative, exuberant and self-explanatory, including the “Thus Spake Zarathustra” theme from Stanley Kubrick’s classic “2001.”
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “WALL-E” is a wistful, whimsical 10. It’s a visionary robotic romance that’s destined to be one of the best pictures of the year.

Susan Granger’s review of “Hancock” (Columbia/Sony)

Once upon a time, Will Smith ruled Fourth of July weekend with movies like “Independence Day” and “Men in Black.” But while this year’s entry, “Hancock,” may pique momentary interest, it’s one of his worst, like “Wild, Wild West.”
The sly comedic premise is promising: Smith plays ‘John Hancock,’ a whiskey-guzzling, profanity-spewing, grudging superhero who causes nothing but chaos whenever he catches culprits in Los Angeles – and then he saves Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), an earnest public-relations consultant. Realizing that the destructively reckless Hancock, who looks like a derelict, desperately needs an image make-over, Ray tackles the job.
“Landing is your superhero handshake,” he begins. “Don’t come in too hot, don’t come in too boozy, and don’t land on the $100,000 Mercedes.”
Invincible but not intractable, Hancock is willing to run the hazardous anger-management course but it’s obvious during the Embrey family’s traditional Thursday spaghetti-and-meatballs supper that Ray’s wife Mary (Charlize Theron) wants nothing to do with him. The tension between them and her obvious hostility suggests a backstory which, when revealed, is so mind-boggling, muddled and misguided that it makes little sense and undermines the logic and coherence of the rest of the concept, including the introduction of an irrelevant villain.
Writers Vy Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan never really develop the origins of Hancock’s character, and director Peter Berg (“The Kingdom”) relies far too much on jittery hand-held camerawork, intense close-ups and fast cutting which generate a kinetic quality that seriously undermines the story.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Hancock” is a frenetic, unfulfilling, forgettable 5. Even Will Smith looks uncharacteristically uncomfortable, although – as star and producer – one would assume he had veto power over the many misguided choices that were made on this $150 million misfire.

Susan Granger’s review of “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl” (Picturehouse)

This is a brand-new chick flick for the pre-teen set. Although it’s the fourth movie in the popular American Girl historically-themed franchise, it’s the first to garner a big-screen release.
Spunky, inquisitive Kit Kittredge (Abigail Breslin) is a Depression-era 10 year-old with a nose for a good story. It’s 1934 in Cincinnati, where the crusty editor (Wallace Shawn) at the local paper rejects her first reporting effort but not before he mentions that freelancers make a penny a word. The prospect of that financial windfall motivates Kit even more.
After her father (Chris O’Donnell) loses his car dealership, he goes to Chicago looking for work. To avoid foreclosure on the family home,  her mother (Julia Ormond) sells eggs and is taking in boarders, like Miss Bond (Joan Cusack), the ditsy mobile librarian; Miss Dooley (Jane Krakowski), the flirtatious dance-instructor; Mr. Berk (Stanley Tucci), the vaudeville magician; and grouchy Mrs. Howard (Glenne Headly) with her nine year-old son (Zach Mills).
When there’s a string of sinister robberies, the boarders’ suspicions focus on the two orphaned, homeless ‘hobo’ boys, Will (Max Thieriot) and Countee (Willow Smith), her mother has hired to help around the house. But compassionate Kit is determined to find the real culprit.
Leaving the vanity of “Barbie” and the vacuousness of “Bratz” behind, screenwriter Ann Peacock (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”) and Canadian director Patricia Rozema (“Mansfield Park”) tackle gritty, relevant social issues like poverty and prejudice – while Abigail Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) charms.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl” is a sweetly wholesome, unabashedly sentimental 8. And one of its producers, Julia Roberts, acknowledges there will be more American Dolls in the future.

Susan Granger’s dvd update for week of Friday, June 27:

Iconoclastic writer/director John Sayles evokes the complexities of 1950s Jim Crow Alabama in “Honeydripper” about a former blues piano-man (Danny Glover) whose dilapidated roadhouse will be taken by the sheriff (Stacy Keach) if he can’t come up with mortgage money; the soundtrack rocks!

Roland Emmerich’s “10,000 B.C.” is an intense, action-packed, prehistoric adventure. With a banal plot and minimalist dialogue, it’s a guilty pleasure for those partial to woolly mammoths. The heartwarming romantic mystery, “Definitely Maybe,” follows a precocious 10 year-old (Abigail Breslin) who questions her father (Ryan Reynolds) about the three women in his life (Isla Fisher, Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz); extras include deleted scenes, insight into production design and director/actor commentaries.

If you’re into senseless, bloody violence, Martin McDonaugh’s “In Bruges” mixes dark comedy with crime as two morally conflicted gangsters (Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleason) from London are trapped in the Flemish town of Bruges in Belgium, awaiting instructions from their boss (Ralph Fiennes). In the gripping “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” a Romanian college student (Anamaria Marinca) struggles to help a friend (Laura Vasiliu) get a black-market abortion under the repressive Communist regime; the ‘extras’ include revealing interviews. Along the same lines but quite different, Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud’s animated “Persepolis” revolves around a young Iranian girl searching for her place in the world; what’s unusual is that it tells the story of a nation in turmoil from a child’s perspective.

For kids, ages 3-5, “Loopdidoo,” based on the popular comic books “Grabouillon,” is about a goofy dog and his five year-old owner, Petunia.

PICK OF THE WEEK: With high spirited exuberance, “Charlie Bartlett” is a tart, refreshingly clever coming-of-age tale about teens’ recreational use of prescription medications and the necessity of parental involvement.

Susan Granger’s review of “Wanted” (Universal Pictures)

Making his American feature debut, Kazakhstan-born director Timur Bekmambetov ups the ante on turning graphic comic books into big-screen adventures with this hyper-kinetic, viscerally thrilling, supercharged transformation of a nerd into a superhero.
25 year-old Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy of “Atonement,” “Last King of Scotland,” “Chronicles of Narnia”) is apathetic and riddled with anxiety; he hates his job as an account manager and his girl-friend is boffing his best-friend. Which explains why he’s immediately intrigued when Fox (Angelina Jolie) suddenly saves his life, telling him his estranged father was one of the world’s greatest assassins and recruiting him to follow in his footsteps.
Yet it’s not quite that simple. Fox works for Sloan (Morgan Freeman), who masterminds The Fraternity, a 1,000 year-old league of supersensory-trained killers pledged to carry out a binary code of vengeance hidden in the fibers of the Loom of Fate: “Kill one, save a thousand.” Their shooting specialty is curving the trajectory of bullets around obstacles and people. The Fraternity’s training methods are brutal but Gibson soon develops his dormant skills, along with growing suspicions about Sloan’s fickle finger of fate and his own destiny.
Mark Millar and J.G. Jones’ cult comic book series was adapted by Michael Brandt, Derek Haas and Chris Morgan, and Timur Bekmambetov’s resume includes “Day Watch” and “Night Watch,” Russia’s two biggest commercial hits. Inventive action and stunt work are his forte – as demonstrated by the elevated train sequences and a climactic chase on a high-speed Pendolino train, superbly photographed by Mitchell Amundsen, edited by David Brenner and orchestrated by Danny Elfman.
. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Wanted” is a wry, nascent 9, because Terence Stamp, who plays an enigmatic character, says a sequel is already in the works.

Susan Granger’s review of “Mongol” (Picturehouse)

The theatrical trailer for this ferocious historical epic is a bit misleading. It appears to revolve around Genghis Khan, the 13th century conqueror of Asia and the Middle East, when, in reality, this – the first of a trilogy – is a coming-of-age story about the nomadic boy who eventually became a great warrior
Set between 1172 and 1206, it begins with nine year-old Prince Temudgin (Odnyam Odsuren) traveling the steppes on horseback with his father, Khan Esugei, the tribal leader, en route to broker a bride from a traditional rival, the powerful Merkits. En route, they stop overnight with a lesser tribe but it’s here that Temudgin spies tall, spunky 10 year-old Borte (Bayartseteg Erdenebat) and – much to his father’s dismay – chooses her instead. (There’s a wonderful scene as the eligible girls are lined up for his perusal.) The wedding is set in five years. But en route home, Esugei is poisoned, the family yurt (a portable, circular structure with a wood frame) is looted and Temudgin is captured. Reckless but resilient, the lad is often imprisoned, yet repeatedly escapes. When he grows up (as played by Japanese star Tadanobu Asano), he then embarks on a quest not only to recapture what is rightfully his, including Borte (now played by Khulan Chuluun), but also to unite various warring factions and modernize Central Asia.
Oscar-nominated director Sergei Bodrov (“Prisoner of the Mountains”) is from Russia, a territory that was once plundered by Khan’s troops. He and screenwriter Arif Aliyev have created a solemn, somewhat ponderous family drama/adventure saga, studded with violent carnage and nuances of the exotic Kazakh culture.
In Mongolian with English subtitles, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Mongol” is a sweeping, blood-soaked 7. Beware the wrath of Khan.

Susan Granger’s dvd update for week of Friday, June 20th:

As a recently divorced couple, Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey team up in “Fool’s Gold,” searching for the legendary Queen’s Dowry treasure of jewels that was lost in the Caribbean in 1715. Extras include a gag reel and behind-the-scenes bantering with Kate and Matt.
Martin Lawrence stars in “Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins” as talk-show sensation RJ Stevens, who left behind his modest Georgia upbringing and family name to become a self-help guru. Now he’s headed back for his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. The dvd has almost 45 minutes of outtakes and deleted/extended scenes plus an alternate opening.
Clint Eastwood’s daughter Alison makes an auspicious directing debut with “Rails & Ties,” a heartfelt, if bleak family melodrama starring Marcia Gay Harden and Kevin Bacon. What’s striking is the uncanny resemblance between Bacon’s reserved demeanor and ‘early’ Clint Eastwood performances.
Set in Beirut, “Caramel” follows the lives of five women who meet regularly in a beauty salon to discuss men, sex and motherhood; it’s both an astute cultural study and a charming comedic drama.
Although “Chaos Theory” never got a wide release, it stars Ryan Reynolds as a timid, uptight efficiency consultant who learns to embrace life’s unpredictability when his wife (Emily Mortimer) sets the kitchen clock ahead by mistake.
“Popeye and Friends Vol. 1” and “Popeye the Sailor 1938-1940 Volume 2” show how everyone’s favorite sailorman hasn’t aged a day since his debut 75 years ago, proving the power of eating spinach.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Evoking memories of “Cinema Paradiso,” Patricia Riggen’s engaging road movie “Under the Same Moon” traces parallel stories of a mother and son in Los Angeles and Mexico. In Spanish with English subtitles, it’s a gem – one of those rare films that truly touch your heart.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Love Guru” (Paramount Pictures)

While prominent Hindu leaders have called for a boycott of this new Mike Myers comedy because it mocks their religious concepts, I suspect none will be necessary because the gullible audience for this feeble spoof of self-help spiritualism will probably shrivel on its own.
As a child, Guru Pitka (Mike Myers) was left at the gates of an ashram in India. After years in training and developing “Mariska Hargitay” as his mantra, he’s summoned by Jane Bullard (Jessica Alba), the owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, to help her star player, Darren Roanoke (Romany Malco), who has been emotionally crippled ever since his wife (Meagan Good) ran off a rival French Canadian goalie, the enormously endowed Jacques “Le Coq” Grande (Justin Timberlake). So much for plot. Most of the screen time is devoted to Pitka’s mugging maharishi schtick, including crotch jokes, urine-soaked mops, hockey pucks to the head and elephant erotica.
Mike Myers’ interpretation of the dubiously accented swami – whom an Oprah Winfrey impersonator calls “the next Deepak Chopra” – looks like every other smirking character he’s done. But since Myers serves as producer/star/co-writer (with Graham Gordy), there was no one to tell him that his ludicrous cavorting is little more than an 88-minute “Saturday Night Live” skit. Certainly not first-time director Marco Schnabel.
As in the “Austin Powers” franchise, Myers pads out the proceedings with cameos, including Ben Kingsley as cross-eyed Guru Tugginmypudha, “Mini-Me” Verne Troyer as the hockey coach, Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert as a drugged-up announcer and John Oliver of “The Daily Show” as Dick Pants, the guru’s agent.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Love Guru” is an atrocious, inanely tedious 2. Or, as Ghandi said, “An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.”

Susan Granger’s review of “Get Smart” (Warner Bros.)

First the good news. With his self-effacing demeanor, Steve Carell (“The Office”) is a natural as secret agent Maxwell Smart, originated by Don Adams on the ‘60s TV series.
When we meet him, the Cold War is still on and he’s the most conscientious analyst at CONTROL, the covert U.S. spy agency. While he’s eager to become a secret agent, the Chief (Alan Arkin) wants him to stay where he is. But when Russia’s evil KAOS, led by Siegfried (Terence Stamp) and his assistant Shtarker (Ken Davitian), compromises the identity of all other field agents, Smart is drafted into action as Agent 86, paired by default with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) whose face has been surgically altered.
Encouraged by his friend, superstar Agent 23 (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), Smart plays his hunches and gathers gadgets, including a radar-detector wristwatch and a Swiss Army Knife with a flamethrower attachment and a miniature titanium-threaded grappling hook. He and Agent 99 land in Moscow, infiltrate the lair of Krstic (David S. Lee), despite his menacing 7’2” bodyguard (Dalip Singh, pro wrestling’s The Great Khali), uncover a nuclear arsenal and unmask a double-agent.
So what’s the bad news? The age difference between Carell and Hathaway is a major miscalculation. And while writers Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember base the characters on their sitcom counterparts, the screenplay doesn’t match the cleverness of TV writers Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, nor does Peter Segal’s direction which turns Maxwell Smart into a sincere, sensitive, indomitable fellow, as opposed to Adams’ goofy, accident-prone enthusiast. Yes, there’s the shoe-phone (the earliest cellphone on record) and an updated Cone of Silence. But on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Get Smart” is a silly 6, missing it by that much.

Susan Granger’s review of “Elsa & Fred” (Distrimax Inc & Mitropoulos Films)

Set in Madrid, this timelessly sublime romantic comedy about the irresistible power and total madness of passion focuses on two elderly people who discover it’s never to late to love and to dream.
When recently widowed Alfredo (Manuel Alexandre) moves into a new apartment, his new neighbor, ebullient Argentinean Elsa (China Zorrilla), is intrigued. That she backed her car into one belonging to his volatile daughter Cuca (Blanca Portillo), smashing her headlights, only serves as an introduction. After all, he has a dog named Napoleon Bonaparte and she lives in apartment J, as in Josephine. Plus, they both have controlling offspring. Hers are two sons, one a penniless painter. His is Cuca and her out-of-work husband Paco, who is trying to manipulate Alfred into investing in a cybercafé.
“Have you had any laughs?” Elsa boldly asks shy, reserved Alfred, an admitted hypochondriac. “You’re not afraid of dying. You’re afraid of living,” she observes astutely. “I’m your only salvation.”
So their love affair begins. With her active imagination, Elsa’s determined to enjoy every minute and Alfred discovers all he’s been missing in life. As their relationship ripens, Alfredo learns that Elsa is not only a Fellini fanatic but has always dreamed of re-enacting that magical moment from “La Dolce Vida” between Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni in Rome’s Trevi Fountain. If not now, when?
Directed by Marcos Carnevale from a screenplay by Carnevale, Lily Ann Martin, Marcela Guerty and Jose Antonio Felez, it’s brilliantly acted by the two septuagenarians who wallow in shameless sentimentality. In Spanish with English subtitles, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Elsa & Fred” is an exuberant, thoroughly entrancing 8. As Pablo Picasso said, “It takes a long time to become young.”