Carly Schroeder, Adrian Dunbar, Katharine Ross, George Harris, Jane Lynch, Christine Adams. Drama/adventure. Written by Michael Sellers, Wendell Morris. Directed by Michael Sellers.
FILM SYNOPSIS: Alyssa is a troubled fourteen-year-old who has been living with her grandmother Lucy since the sudden death of her mother. Unable to control her granddaughter, Lucy decides it’s time for Alyssa to go to the Bahamas to live with Hawk, a dedicated dolphin researcher and the father she never knew she had. Alyssa’s arrival comes just as Hawk is battling the greedy developers determined to turn his research center into a tacky tourist attraction. A prickly relationship between Hawk and Alyssa begins to develop as they come together to save the center. PREVIEW REVIEW: Young Carly Schroeder (Gracie, Firewall) is developing from cute screen presence into a talented actress. Through much of the film she brandishes the sulky stare that has come to represent screen teenage-hood, but suddenly she allows a captivating smile to beam across her face and you realize that there is depth to this young actress. Also athletic, Ms. Schroeder trained for several months with former Los Angeles Galaxy player Dan Calichman to prepare for her role in Gracie and has performed her own underwater stunts, including swimming with the dolphins. We do see Alyssa in a rebellious stage, smoking, drinking and making herself up to look like a wild child, but it doesn’t take long for her true self to emerge. She is a caring person, one full of character. The film subtly points out the need to nurture children. They need to feel loved and understand that they have importance. Along with this development, the film gives us an entertaining look at underwater life. Indeed, there’s nothing cynical about the production. It’s a straightforward story that takes us into a world most of us don’t get to explore – the undersea of the Bahamas. Along with the involving performances and storyline, the film contains a pretty musical score and lovely cinematography. The themes concern bringing family together, learning to listen to others, keeping our hearts open. I must, however, warn parents that some content may confuse little ones. The film has a friendly Hallmark feel, so the inclusion of PG-13 content seems unnecessary and out of place. Along with showing Alyssa’s rebellious stage by including drinking smoking, even marijuana use, we also learn that her father lives with a woman outside marriage. Though this has become an accepted lifestyle, is it the example you want your young children constantly confronted with in movies? There are no graphic sexual situations and the main characters grow into giving, self-sacrificing people. So, if you can enjoy a film despite a few lifestyle choices you may not agree with, then I think you’ll find the film an entertaining outdoor adventure.
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Colin Firth, Thomas Sanger, Ben Kingsley, Aishwarya Rai. Action/adventure. Written by Jez and Tom Butterworth. Directed by Doug Lefler.
FILM SYNOPSIS: Barbarians overtake Rome and kidnap the newest Caesar, a 12-year-old boy. The surviving captain of the guard sees Rome completely destroyed and goes after the abducted emperor with the aid of a handful of assorted warriors, including a beautiful martial arts expert from India. Once they have the boy back, and this really big sword, they find themselves in battle after battle as they search for a new kingdom. PREVIEW REVIEW: Twelve-year-old Romulus Augustus, the newest Caesar, learns quickly that the barbarians truly are at the gate. His legions are off somewhere and soon he’s without an empire, left with only a handful of warriors who look like they’re out of a Conan movie rather than members of the Roman army. Together they search for sanctuary as they cross rough terrain and battle everybody but Conan. I mean there’s a lot of sword play. Trouble is, the battle sequences are so ineptly staged and filmed that it feels more like a TV-made movie. And that’s about all there is to this movie. Some masked villain is determined to kill off the boy king and take his place, ruling the known world. He’s got a lot of henchmen willing to do his bidding and, though fierce warriors themselves, they’re no match for our small band of killer elites. With probably the most absurd take on the Excalibur legend yet brought to the screen, aided by functional performances that do little to inspire (listening to Colin Firth’s speech to the troops before the final battle, one wonders why they didn’t all go back to their farms) and listless direction and blah cinematography, it’s easy to understand why critics weren’t invited to an early screening. The studio knew the job was blown, and so they hoped to get a little back on their investment from those hearty first weekenders who must see attractions that first Friday and Saturday night come hell or high water. Well, nobody got hurt. Moviegoers have survived many a poor theatrical offering and filmmakers have botched other action pictures even worse (audiences should have sued over last year’s Stealth). But there are a lot better films on DVD concerning Rome, or sword battles or dangerous journeys. Heck, there’s many a home movie that would be more inspiring.
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Daniel Auteuil, Julie Gayet, Dany Boon, Julie Durand. Written by Patrice Leconte, Jerome Tonnerre. Directed by Patrice Leconte. 94 min.
FILM SYNOPSIS: François is a middle-aged antique dealer. He has a stylish apartment and a fabulous life, but at a dinner with a group he considers his dearest acquaintances, he is blindsided by the revelation that none of them actually likes him. He’s arrogant, self-centered and harsh, and they don’t believe he knows the meaning of friendship. His business partner Catherine makes him a bet: if he can produce his best friend, she will let him keep the massive Greek vase he acquired that afternoon on the company tab. If not, it’s hers. Having accepted the wager, François naively tears through his address book, trying to shoehorn an increasingly unlikely series of contacts into the all-important role. Moving through Paris, he keeps encountering a trivia-spouting, big-hearted cabbie named Bruno. Bruno’s chatty, lowbrow ways grate against François’s designer temperament, but he covets the other man’s easy way with people. He convinces Bruno to teach him how to make friends and sets about learning the “three S’s” – being sociable, smiling and sincere – though they don’t come easy. Ultimately, François victory will depend on Bruno's naiveté in playing along, but what's the cost of cheating at friendship? PREVIEW REVIEW: The lead has been so caught up with self and a goal of possessing things that he has never attempted to learn how to develop friendships. By film’s end however, he, like George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, discovers that “…no man is a failure who has friends.” I had a nice time with this good-natured fable. It’s an interesting foreign film, one with subtitles, but unfortunately, it contains some PG-13 content, which, had it not been there, no one would have missed it. Still, the moral (true riches are found in friendships) is pleasant, even if today’s mores dominate (premarital sex, the gay lifestyle and stealing are accepted), the performances are engaging and the script is thoughtful.
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Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Donna Murphy, Chris Evans, Paul Giamatti, Alicia Keys. Written by Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini, Jenny Bicks. Directed by Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini.
FILM SYNOPSIS: The Nanny Diaries tells the story of Annie Braddock (Johansson), a young woman struggling to understand her place in the world. Fresh out of college, she gets tremendous pressure from her nurse mother to find a respectable position in the business world, although Annie would prefer to trade in her blackberry for an anthropologist's field diary. Through a serendipitous meeting, Annie ends up in the elite and ritualistic culture of Manhattan's Upper East Side -- as remote from Annie's suburban New Jersey upbringing as life in an Amazon tribal village. Choosing to duck out of real life, Annie accepts the position as a nanny for a wealthy family, referred to as simply "the X's." She quickly learns that life is not very rosy on the other side of the tax bracket, as she must cater to the every whim of Mrs. X (Linney) and her precocious son, Grayer, while attempting to avoid the nasty Mr. X (Giamatti). PREVIEW REVIEW: Containing a subtle, involving performance from the magical Ms. Johansson, some good comic satire from the writers, and a stressed message that money is not the end all, it’s Mary Poppins for grownups. Indeed, there are several not so faint tributes to Disney’s Poppins, including the lead’s flight of fantasy as she sails above the city with the aid of an umbrella, and the film’s message: true riches are found in one’s own children. In place of a spoonful of sugar, Nanny convinces her little charge that peanut butter and jelly makes the medicine go down. She even finds an opportunity to repeat the world’s longest word, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (can you say it backwards?). Well, it lacks the class and classic-ness of Mary Poppins, but it is an enjoyable outing with its Erma Bombeck-like witty narration and humorous satire of parents who treat their children like possessions. That said, read the content before you decide to attend.
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Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett, Alan Alda, Kathryn Morris, Terri Hatcher, Dakota Goyo. Written by Allison Burnett, Michael Bortman. Directed by Rod Lurie.
FILM SYNOPSIS: A struggling reporter finds a scoop – a onetime boxing champ now homeless, living on the streets. His slight detective work and his trust in the man’s retelling of his life leads to a disastrous outcome when the printed story in the LA Times is found to be false. Though it sullies his name and reputation, the humbling experience causes the reporter to reevaluate his character and the importance of truth in journalism and in personal relationships. PREVIEW REVIEW: Fine performances from all (the best I’ve seen from Mr. Hartnett) and a message concerning the importance of honesty and how one lie leads to another, highlight this well-constructed, entertaining film. Alas, our Lord and Savior’s name is misused often, as the lead struggles to convey frustration and fear by shouting Christ’s name. I know I go on and on about the profane use of God’s name in movies, but it’s like nails on a chalkboard to me. It’s not only irreverent, but though many people misuse it in real life, including most actors and writers, still it’s offensive and uncreative.
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