Fellow Movie Lovers

Fellow Movie Lovers

WHIP IT

The appropriate word to describe this coming of age movie is “sweet”! Drew Barrymoor’s directorial debut should be applauded; casting herself in a minor role is an exercise in humility that should also be commended.

Ellen Page (Juno, Smart People) stars as the frustrated small town teen, seething to break the binds of her very conventional existence. Ms. Page, radiates intelligence, comfort and supreme control over her characterization of Bliss (aka Babe Ruthless); she is a dynamite wizard on wheels.

Marcia Gay Harden gives a credible performance of a mother trying to actualize her dreams through her daughters: she too must come of age.

Whip It will satisfy the thirteen through twenty-five year olds. The rest, Skip It!

Two Stars!

The BOYS ARE BACK

I think it was Shakespeare who once said that if all one does is play, it becomes work! In this film the viewer is treated to two hours of tedium watching a father and his sons run, romp and role while sinking deeper and deeper into a sea of squalor: oblivious to the “cleanliness is next to godliness” mantra!

This is based on a true story and everyone can empathize with the pain of loss and the challenges of coping with grief but the movie was totally lacking in substance. Even the devastating countenance of Clive Owen and the magical landscape of Australia could not save this film from the world of mediocrity. The boys are back; oh how I wished they had stayed where they were!

Two Stars!

CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY

When I think of filmatic love stories or pairings I conger up images of Burton and Taylor, Tracy and Hepburn, O’Neal and MacGraw, Ledger and Gyllenhaal or even Fay Wray and King Kong. But in Michael Moore’s latest fantasy he partners Wall Street and its passionate quest for “capital”ism as a marriage so devoted, so strong so empirical that it will never grace the halls of a divorce court: just a criminal one.

This is NOT a documentary. Moore’s talents lie in shedding seeds of truth on his field of fiction. The financial institutions deserve much of the castigation depicted in this, at times very entertaining film but Moorism takes it into the realm of the absurd. He proselytizes that capitalism and democracy are diametrically opposed and can never coexist: his converts, members of the clergy and Congress believe that we are on the verge of an apocalypse. Apropos of a Stephen King novel.

Moore is disturbing with his black and white portrayal of the government, financial institutions and both major political parties; nothing and no one is left unscathed. But this is his right and privilege in our democratic society; we encourage discourse and dialogue between opposing opinions. Yes, it feels good to vent; no one does venting better than Moore.

The movie shines with his clever juxtapositions of past film clips with the present; naturally edited to prove his point. His chutzpah at trying to make a citizens arrest and arriving at banks with a Brinks truck to collect the bailout funds to be redistributed to the people are hilarious.

It should be noted that Mr. Moore received millions of dollars in tax incentives from the state of Michigan to film Capitalism: A Love Story in their state; and like any good capitalist, if this was disclosed, it was in very small print! Whose pockets did these incentives come from? We also know from a recent Wall Street Journal article that you can purchase a home in Detroit for the price of a Birkin bag!

Mr. Moore, instead of Wall Street, should invest some of his capital in a new suit, hat and tie!

Two & ½ Stars!

For Now……………..Peneflix