Topping any week, in fact, topping the year in films, is the impressively entertaining political thriller called ARGO. Based on a true story (but I'm sure gussied up to entertain even more--see final sequence at the airport for that "yeah, sure" moment) ARGO tells of the heroic efforts of the Canadians and the CIA to rescue a group of American embassy workers who slipped out the back door when Iranian mobs stormed the US Embassy and held over 50 hostages for over 400 days back in 1979. Ben Affleck stars and (directs) as a CIA operative who pretends to be a film maker who wants to direct a science fiction movie in an exotic local, so he comes into Iran and instructs the embassy workers how to pretend to be the producer, writer, photographer, etc, and then hopes to fly them back home in plain sight. The film is suspenseful and funny, and impossible not to like, especially with Alan Arkin and John Goodman chewing the scenery as the Hollywood types trying to set up the "best worst idea" possible. Definitely one of the top films of the year so far. GRADE--------A
Based on a popular best seller (which I have not read) THE PERKS OF BEING A WALL FLOWER is one of those lovely little films, falsely advertised as a charming teen coming of age comedy. The good news is that it is sincerely subtle and genuinely perceptive in telling quite dramatically the story of three best friends--all social outcasts in high school, who band together with a few others for a tender and surprisingly emotional year of self discovery. The film veers into a completely different story line as it proceeds, helping to illuminate the false starts and missteps that many high schooler may experience. I was surprised and very moved by these revelations. PERKS belied and completely exceeded my expectations. GRADE------A-
Ambitious and epic, sprawling and fascinating, CLOUD ATLAS is a great science fiction film that works on several levels. Intermixing a half dozen different plots set in different centuries (and worlds) and featuring a large, talented cast, each of who portray several different characters through out history, CLOUD ATLAS intrigues, mystifies and thrills, sometimes all in the same scene. If nothing else, it is fun to watch as Tom Hanks plays a physical "neanderthal" type, a nuclear scientist, a sea captain, a nasty slave owner and several other parts, and Halle Barry portrays an Asian man, an investigative reporter, a futuristic space traveler, and a Victorian "lady", among other parts. Hugo Weaving also gets a number of juicy characters (including a prison matron) as do Ben Whishaw, Jim Sturgess, and the amazing Jim Broadbent. The many different sets and costumes are vivid and unique, and if the film doesn't exactly answer the question of how "we are all connected" it is still a courageous and challenging work of cinematic artistry. GRADE------A-
The modest but entertaining filmed in Seattle low budget movie THE DETAILS isn't quite a farce or a comedy, although there are many odd and humorous things that occur. When the young couple living in the suburbs try to get rid of the pesky raccoons that are camping out in their back yard, they accidentally kill the neighbors cat, which leads the kind but immoral doctor to more lies, infidelity and ----murder. It's a disturbing film, but the cast--Tobey Macguire, Elizabeth Banks, Dennis Haysbert, Ray Liotta, and especially Laura Linney, are all quite effective (in good and bad ways) and make THE DETAILS something special. GRADE--------B
The Swedish film SIMON & THE OAKS is a good looking melodrama set during WWII that has a Christian boy befriending a Jewish boy, whose family is being persecuted. Because the Jewish boy's mother is mentally unstable, the Christian family raise the child, while their son becomes fascinated by the musically cultured world of the Jewish father. The film covers many years, and wanders a bit, and needs some dramatic oomph towards the end, but it is mostly intriguing and well worth watching. GRADE----B
Played as straight forward action, TAKEN 2 is not too bad, but suffers from those having seen and liked the original TAKEN. Again, Liam Neeson is the killing machine--in the first film he mows down dozens of Albanians who have stolen his daughter into the European sex trade industry. In the follow up, the patriarch of a kidnapper, from the first film who doesn't seem to acknowledge that the reason his son and all his friends were killed was because they were CRIMINALS!---he wants revenge, so he kidnaps and intends to kill Liam and his wife when they return to Europe. This time the daughter gets to help the father, and after dozens of deaths......(SPOILER ALERT!!!) all ends well. Except for the headache the viewer will have due to the pointless hand held jerky camera that is annoying and a cheat when it comes to action scenes, since you can't tell what is happening with the camera swirling all over the place. GRADE--------C
DVD CHOICES---------------------------
In anticipation of Christmas Day when the musical version of Victor Hugo's classic novel LES MISERABLES opens with Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried, I watched with interest the earlier version of LES MISERABLES (1998) which featured Liam Neeson, Uma Thurman, Geoffrey Rush and Claire Danes. The plot is all there, but I kept wanting to hear that glorious music. As much as I like Claire Danes, she seemed rather miscast--perhaps a bit too old and mature for the part, and the film lacks urgency and style. Still, it was OK. GRADE------B-
In the opening minutes of MARY REILLY (1996) I thought this was going to be another UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS from the servants point of view. Mary Reilly, played with restraint and a roving Irish accent by Julia Roberts turns out to be a domestic in the home of a Dr. Jekyll, who we soon learn will be "entertaining" his friend, a Mr. Hyde. Stephen Frears directed this curious tale--it is indeed told from Mary's point of view, but the action is rather staid when it should be thrilling. Glenn Close has fun with a brief role as the local "butch" Madame of a house of prostitution, but Roberts nearly disappears into the set design, and I kept thinking that Jekyll and Hyde looked an awful lot alike, but nobody else seemed to notice. It looks good and has some moments. GRADE------C+
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