LETTERS TO JULIET...Redgrave, Nero, Seyfried... 2010

The true love story of this film is the real life story of love between Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero, who first starred together as Lancelot and Guenever in the 1967 film version of Camelot. Originally a sappy singing duo whose sensual screen romance shocked and enticed the world so many years ago, they now live as man and wife and sparkle together again in this sweet little romcom.
The Minnie Mouse type Amanda Seyfried forced lines and dressed 40 while her quirks wooed the male counterpart MIckey Mouse with his equally awkward walk and quintessential British mannerisms. The fiance', Victor (Gael García Bernal), played Goofy very well. But this Disney trio was not the endearing focus. Stepping back, it was the precious connection between Juliet (Redgrave) and her Romeo (Nero). And it was the sweet, felt longing for a mother to come and simply listen, spend time, and so gently brush the hair of a sweet daughter. This was what made this film endearing, enjoyable, and sweet.

PRINCE OF PERSIA...Ah, Jake, finally the action hero!

As the sands of time...so are the days of our lives. Didn't Socrates say that? (Bill & Ted cough). Original and curiously enjoyable, this action film is an oasis in the dry theater this week.

At the Lincoln Cinema, at Bellevue Square, in plush seats. 3D? No, thanks...I almost puked at Clash of the Titans. Yeah, I think was the 3D... maybe. Lights dim. Jake Gyllenhaal has abs? Yes, a 6 pack. CGI? Possibly. I wonder if that girl (Gemma Arterton) feels she can only do these mythological period films. Audience response? Applause. Long applause and standing O from the man who looks like a kid. Think he grew up playing the video game? Definitely. He looks pleased.

Here's a picture of me walking with Jake. Yeah, we hold hands.

CITY ISLAND...2009...Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Emily Mortimer

Some films stay with you. Some films teach. This film provided this familiar discomfort and disgust of an unvarnished indie with the cozy warmth of trustworthy acting. An actor like Andy Garcia can believably play the discouraged prison guard/family man turned vulnerable acting student. Shockingly acceptable. Some scenes /storylines belong in a poorly made 80's movie, but a few characters and scenes took me by surprise as classic dramatic irony brought everyone's secrets into the open. What's your great secret? Each character dealing alone with unconfessed sins while attempting to protect loved ones from the truth, lives in desperate pain and wears a mask: contented wife and mother, A+ college student, high school normal, acting mentor. Oxymorons. Emily Mortimer, Julianna Margulies, and newby Steven Strait (also seen shirtless in odd-duck flop 10,000 BC), beautifully and believably frame this narrative and provide perfect resolve. A favorite author, Flannery O'Connor, has written many City Islandesque scenarios, in which the stable family comes undone and the convict plays the Christ-figure. Well done. Writer/Director: Raymond De Felitta.

IRON MAN 2...R.Downey Jr. ...2010

Well, if you must know, I really liked it. What's not to like? Robot action flick, a very scary and believable bad guy (probably the most frightening man alive), excellent acting, bright colors & spectacular showmanship. And they only gave Scarlett Jo a few monosylabic lines and some kicking - I was happy. The ending was a bit anticlimactic, but I still a blast. Oh, R.D.J., why do you tease me so...

BABIES...2010

In the debate of Nature vs. Nurture, I tend to to lean into the side of Nurture knowing that the milieus in which we are raised affect us greatly. This film peered brilliantly and honestly into 4 individual stories from 4 unique countries, giving the audience that long-coveted fly-on-the-wall feeling. 4 BABIES come into their own worlds, interact with parents, eat, sleep, poop, throw fits and coo. The coo's become intelligible words just as crawls work up to dance. We climb. We conquer. In these are everyman and yet none of these represented groups that I feel I will ever truly understand. I was horrified by the cultural lack of hygiene and equally mortified by one family's constant absence as the baby sat tied to the bedpost all day. I delighted in the culture of community in one story, but sat stupefied by the over-the-top American example. At least the American example reminded me of the very important truth one family does not represent every - that the one African family is not every African family, that the Mongolian family does not represent all of Mongolia, and so forth. This, one of my first documentary film viewings, led me through fascinating journeys of thought into the probability that we are not only affected by our surroundings but that at whatever age, we also work to impact the environments in which we are placed. I also realized that I am so very Western. I know it's not wrong to appreciate baby wipes, or to be more grateful suddenly for undergarments like bras, but this film stretches worldview. It gives a Truman-esque perspective. What will these little lives turn out like? What will they choose to do and become? How are they formed and forming in thier surroundings? How are they the same? How do they differ? How would they be different if they grew up elsewhere? All excellent studies, but perhaps this film taught me more about motherhood...like the fact that I'm okay without that responsibility for now. I walked out of the theater more grieved than enchanted.