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Art Haarper is retired and enjoys using his senior citizen discount at the local multiplex. Retired persons who are watching their 401K statements shrink each month may want to read his reviews before wasting their pension money on Hollywood trash.

The Incredibles

INCREDIBLE!! or "I came to jeer and stayed to cheer" (I don't know whose quote that is, but I hope its not original). I invested a rainy January afternoon to discover why an animated family movie cartoon was getting such enthusiastic reviews and word-of-mouth, and was pleasantly surprised and entertained.

When our story opens super-heroes have become superfluous and are considered nuisances. The government has set up a sort of "witness protection" program for them. They are given new identities and told to fit into normal society. We meet the TV sitcom-ish family: Mr. Incredible, Dad, a big lovable oaf with super strength; Mrs. Incredible, Mom, AKA Elasti-Girl; and their three maladjusted super children. Mr. I is lured back into action and captured by an evil genius: the disaffected, revenge seeking former president of his fan club. This little nerd plans to eliminate Mr. I and the other super-heroes, destroy a large part of the city with his evil machine, and then become the replacement hero. Fortunately Mrs. I and the kids arrive in time to rescue Mr. I. and together they manage to save the day and foil the evil scheme. Along the way we learn that " the family that super-heroes together, stays together"; and why capes on super-hero costumes are a bad idea. The family accepts the general acclaim of the populace and apparently supers happily ever afterward. This film is a real hoot - funny, exciting, satiric, and recommended viewing for all ages (although some of the cartoon violence might be a little scary for very young children). The animation and production values are first class.

Go and enjoy! You can take your grandchildren for cover if you are ashamed to be seen buying a ticket to a cartoon.

 

The Aviator

Director Martin Scorsese's hugely entertaining version of the "Golden Age" of Hollywood and Aviation as personified by Howard Hughes. I can't vouch for the Hollywood part, but Scorsese should know to get it right. The aviation part is well done and largely accurate as far as the publicly known facts are concerned. The special effects are very well done and the crash sequence is amazing. Howard's impact on the development of aviation is exaggerated, as might be expected. However, he certainly did produce two of the most beautiful and advanced flying machines of that, or any other, era in his H-1 racer and the ill-fated XF-11 reconnaissance airplane and facilitated the development of the classic Lockheed Constellation airliner. His stupendous, misconceived, technology-challenged Hercules, AKA the Spruce Goose, flying boat remains one of the most awesome flying machines ever built. A viewing is worth the trip to its Oregon museum retirement home.

Hughes' amazing life - his brash genius, penchant for risk taking, womanizing, eccentricities, and the beginnings of his eventual descent into madness make for a fast-paced film which holds your interest throughout. Leonardo DiCaprio is excellent as Howard and almost, but not quite, shakes the "DiCaprio playing Hughes" feeling. The same could be said for the other cast members - Hollywood movie actors portraying Hollywood STARS.

Must viewing for movie or airplane buffs and an exciting afternoon at the movies even if you are neither.


The Bourne Supremacy

WHAM! BAM! ALLAKAZAM!!! Non-stop action and suspense - car chases, explosions, assassinations, hand-to-hand combat and more. Amnesiac ex-CIA super agent Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) just wants to be left alone - but "they" won't let him be. A big mistake on "their" part. He single-handedly triumphs over Evil (the CIA), Eviller (renegade CIA), and Evillest (Big Oil in the person of a Russian plutocrat). He even recovers his memory. The US needs to send this guy after Osama.

The film takes us on a whirlwind world tour from India to Moscow with stops in Rome, Munich, and Berlin. The thrills are incessant and the action so continuous that one never questions the improbability of some of the hero's solo exploits. James Bond without the tongue-in-cheek wink to the audience. One might also wonder how he can be so proficient at his craft while suffering from amnesia: the source of his funds and supply of weapons, passports, information, electronic gear, etc. Also his source of stamina - when does he sleep? Put such thoughts aside (they won't enter your mind until later anyway); sit back (if you can), believe in and enjoy this stunning thriller. The climactic car chase through the streets of Moscow is worth the admission price by itself. This is an outstanding example of action motion picture making and sets a new standard for "fast paced".

The Terminal

Steven Spielberg offers us an interesting, well constructed film on values and the human condition. The story concerns Victor, a visitor to the US from a fictional eastern European country. Tom Hanks plays this role in the outstanding professional manner we have come to expect. Victor arrives at JFK coincident with the overthrow of his native government by coup and subsequent civil war. His passport and visa are suddenly invalid - a man without a country. He is stuck in the terminal - unable either to enter or leave the US, at the mercy of the immigration bureaucracy. His initial bewilderment (his English is minimal at first) and eventual adaptation to residing in the terminal as days stretch into months, is the main theme of the film. His interaction with various employees and police at JFK is in the nature of an ode to multi-culturalism. Victor eventually triumphs over adversity, and with the aid of his new found friends, accomplishes his goal in NYC. The lovely Catherine Zeta-Jones has a pivotal (if somewhat small for a star of her magnitude) role as a flight attendant who befriends him. I think Mr. Spielberg was trying to say something deep about human nature and getting along with each other. Nevertheless, the film can be enjoyed as a somewhat unlikely, bittersweet comedy/drama with some nice Capraesque touches. Perhaps not the blockbuster intended, but certainly a very worthy effort. Well worth one's time and money.

The Clearing

This film is a well-acted suspense tale that seems to start slowly, but holds one's interest without benefit of car chases, gratuitous violence, or explosions. The cast is outstanding, especially the three leads. An aging business man (Robert Redford) is kidnapped for ransom by a disgruntled loser (Willem Dafoe). Helen Mirren is superb as Redford's wife and, in some ways, carries the picture. The film is as much or more about relationships (between Redford and Mirren and their family, and Redford and Dafoe) as about the kidnapping. The use of flashbacks and rapid cutting between action locales is a little confusing at times. Nevertheless, suspense builds throughout, until the film reaches what is probably its inevitable climax and resolution.

It's an excellent movie which I recommend highly, and yet I felt a little disappointed as I left the theater. I somehow expected more. I seem to remember a documentary in which that old master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, described what he called the "MacGuffin". A piece of business which is inserted to hold the audience's interest while misleading them as to actual outcome and/or plot twists. Perhaps, in some way, this entire film is a "MacGuffin". In any event, it is definitely worth viewing.

Spiderman 2

C'mon folks - it's a movie about a comic book super-hero - lighten up and enjoy! Fast paced and action packed, as they say in the movie ad blurbs. The special effects are great, and the story carries you along without being campy or taking itself too seriously. An example of the rare sequel that is better than the original.

We learn that it isn't easy being SPIDERMAN and life can be confusing for a super-hero. In any event, who could suspect/believe that nebbish Peter Parker is actually SPIDERMAN? Well, by film's end, a large part of the population of New York is in the know - including a subway car full of people, his girlfriend Mary Jane (the ever popular Kirsten Dunst), and also his unbalanced best friend (and apparent designated villain for SPIDERMAN 3). Otherwise, his identity remains a secret.

Our hero must save NYC from destruction due to an uncontrollable fusion process, the brain child of Dr. Octavius, a scientist whose calculations are slightly in error. The good doctor dons a group of tentacle-like metal arms which interface with his spine and nervous system as part of his process. Unfortunately the arms have a mind of their own and take over the good doctor's brain, resulting in the evil "Doc Oc" (for Octopus). "Doc Oc" , played by Alfred Molina, and his rampaging claw-like mechanical arms steal the show. A truly wondrous exercise in special effects movie making (What can you do when the police command - "Hands up - all of them!" ?).

Never fear! Our hero wins out in the end - NYC is saved - he wins the beautiful Mary Jane - and the movie-goers are well-entertained.

The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg

The general lack of any really interesting recent movies has kept me out of the multi-plexs and at home watching TV and reading. I was intrigued, therefore, when I read a review (4 stars out of 4) of this reissue playing at the local "art" theatre. Since I had never seen U of C, I thought that catching this classic on the big screen might be an easy and interesting way of restarting my movie going habit I decided to ignore the reviewer's "warning" that it was actually an opera and go.

Once I survived the initial shock, the fact that all the dialogue was sung almost seemed natural. There seemed to be a strange affinity between the music, the French lyrics and the English sub-titles. In any event, it worked extremely well and gave a sense of theatrical magic to lighten up what might have been a drab, depressing tale.

The plot is pretty basic:
Boy meets girl
Boy gets girl (in trouble)
Boy loses girl (the path of true love is not smooth)
Boy gets new girl (happy ever afterness)

The cast was excellent. Catherine Deneuve was beautiful (what else!) in the role which made her an international star and definitive commercial "pretty face". However, the real star of the film is the wonderful, romantic music of Michelle LeGrande. One might be tired of these themes and even dismiss them as "elevator music", but here in their intended setting, they can only be described as wonderful.

I found U of C to be a thoroughly enjoyable way of passing time on a Sunday afternoon. Don't pass up a chance to catch it if you haven't seen it or to refresh your memory if you have.


The Johnson Family Vacation

I thought a little light nonsensical entertainment might be a good way to pass a boring Sunday afternoon. Also, I had enjoyed some of Cedric the Entertainer's previous efforts. In spite of some truly funny moments, this saga of a trip from LA to Missouri, via SUV (Lincoln Navigator) for the annual family reunion only slightly entertained. Even slap-stick must be done with a certain flair to be memorable. It's possible that I'm just too seniorly or ethnically challenged to fully appreciate this film; other audience members seemed to enjoy much more than I. When is the next Three Stooges TV Marathon?

 

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