Joyful Noise

The two women rarely see eye-to-eye, and it gets even worse when G.G’s rebellious grandson Randy (Jeremy Jordan) comes to town and sets his romantic sights on Vi’s “good girl” daughter Olivia (Kiki Palmer).

Ultimately, everyone must work together to achieve harmony if they are to have a prayer of winning the prestigious Joyful Noise national church choir competition in Los Angeles. The whole town is counting on them. Can they do it?

If you have a little faith in Hollywood endings, you probably know the answer.

Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a divorced 37-year old author of young adult novels whose book series is coming to an end. She is a hot mess, and not in a good way. She sits around her Minneapolis high-rise apartment watching reality TV, binges on booze and fast-food, hooks up with random guys and looks down on pretty much everyone. In the midst of her emotional breakdown, Mavis decides to return to the small Minnesota lake town where she grew up. It’s a desperate attempt to revisit her glory days as the prom queen who dated the hottest jock in school, Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson). And speaking of that jock, she also intends to seduce him and get him back, even though he’s married with a newborn baby.

Once she gets there, she checks into a hotel to avoid seeing her parents and heads straight for a bar. She ends up sitting next to a former classmate she doesn’t recognize until she see his crutches and realizes he’s the “hate-crime guy” — who was beaten by a bunch of jocks back in high school and left crippled for life. Together Mavis and “hate-crime guy,” whose name is Matt, form an unlkely alliance — the pretty girl and the geek — a couple of emotionally stunted wrecks. It’s their relationship that is at the core of this movie.

Most of the outright laughs in Young Adult come courtesy of Matt who is played by comedian turned actor Patton Oswalt. He turns in an excellent performance. But it’s Theron who is truly outstanding as the high school mean girl who never got over being mean. She plays Mavis without flinching, without giving you even a hint of something to find remotely likable in the character. She totally embraces the role and I hope she gets some recognition for it this awards season.

All the same elements are here that made the first one such a fun romp – the women (Noomi Rapace, Kelly Reilly, Rachel McAdams) who are lovely but peripheral, the Guy Ritchie-style fight scenes, the witty banter, the delightfully designed Victorian sets and clothes, and the most satisfying part of this franchise, the buddy relationship. Downey and Law really do have wonderful chemistry, which makes this kind of silly flick totally entertaining, even if it has a few scripting holes and you don’t ever get to know the girl that comes along for most of the ride. You don’t even notice that it clocks in at 129 minutes.

This time around the story centers on Professor Moriarty’s plan to start a World War and become a rich man by cornering the munitions market. He and Sherlock have a few scenes together where they play mind games with one another, and a few where they attempt to kill one another, and while the fate of the world lies in the balance, they even play a nice game of chess. And just to keep Holmes on his toes and out of his hair, Moriarty goes after Watson and his new bride, on the train to Brighton for their honeymoon, which of course brings Watson right back into the thick of the story, as the two of them race to stop the villainous Professor from destroying Western civilization.

This is the kind of movie where the story isn’t really all that important. It is all about Holmes and Watson having a ripping good time. As usual, the über-talented Downey goes all out, one minute fighting with a parkour-adept Cossack, the next showing up in another silly disguise (his urban camouflage is particularly fun), and later dancing with his perfectly sane sidekick Watson. It is this infectious sense of intelligent whimsy that will keep this series going. There are also some very funny scenes with Holmes’s brother Mycroft played by the hilarious Stephen Fry. [But if there was one thing I would ask of Guy Ritchie for the next one, could you please let Holmes shave? Downey is scruffy throughout and, as the minutes go by, more and more beaten and bruised. I'd just love to see that face in its beautiful, pure state for a scene or two before the brass knuckles come out.]

I’d recommend this one to anyone who liked the first Sherlock Holmes. It the same winning formula and I can see many more to come. It would be great for a date night movie, too. Cute guys for the chicks and lots of fight scenes for the roosters. Something for everyone.

Garry Marshall is brilliant. He made a mildly entertaining movie with an A-List cast and a name that virtually guarantees it a place in holiday rerun history. [New Year’s Eve] is like Crash-light. Really, really, really light. It follows a bunch of folks whose lives intersect in various ways as they [embrace, reject, and reflect on all that is New Year’s Eve as the ball is about to drop in New York City].

The cast is a virtual who’s who of stars from the big and small screen – including [Hillary Swank, Robert De Niro, Sarah Jessica Parker, Josh Duhamel, rocker Jon Bon Jovi, Halle Berry, Katherine Heigl, Zac Efron, Michelle Pfeifer], Jessica Biel, Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michele, Hector Elizondo… Need I go on?

There’s no real way to review the storyline without giving too much away. All I can say is the movie is enjoyable enough, if not particularly deep. Director Garry Marshall knows how to deliver a solid mainstream chick flick. And as a fellow Northwestern alum, it’s always fun to spot his quick nod to our alma mater – in this case [if there was one, I somehow missed it!]. It’s also worth sticking around for the end credits. Among the outtakes – a fun, little salute to [Valentine’s Day].

Watching [New Year’s Eve] is like watching a special, star-studded edition of The Love Boat. If that floats your boat, then go and enjoy.

There ya have it. A re-purposed review that matches a re-purposed premise that – if it does well enough at the box office – will surely spark yet another entry into the star-studded holiday “franchise”. Place your bets now for Christmas Day, Hanukkah Nights, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Columbus Day…

The Sitter

The Sitter is an okay movie, but it may suffer from an identity crisis. On the surface, it looks to appeal to The Hangover Two and Pineapple Express crowd. But deep down – it wants to be a chick flick.  So chances are, it won’t fully click with any particular demographic. One thing it did do, however, was make me nostalgic for the original Adventures in Babysitting. If you haven’t seen that one, rent it. Or wait for The Sitter to come out on DVD and enjoy one very trippy double-feature.

The Sitter is only 80 minutes long, but feels longer. So you may want to save 10 bucks and watch the trailer instead:

I have my favorite movie of the year now, and I expect that The Artist will be at the top of a lot of other reviewers’ lists, too. I’ve been told I gush about it. And I do not gush often. Considering that it is in black & white and is a silent film, you might wonder why.

I will admit to being a lover of older movies, particularly those from the 30s. And so, obviously, is the writer/director of The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius. In the same way Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris is a love letter to Paris, The Artist is an adoring ode to classic Hollywood. It is brimming with visual references to the great movies and movie stars from the early days of cinema, and the gloriously shot black & white imagery harkens back to an era when movie sets were works of art. Being a silent film, the soundtrack is in itself a character and I cannot imagine a better choice of period music along with several bits of whimsy. There is even a little dog with a big personality that would make Asta green with envy.

But what makes this movie really shine is the performance of the artist himself, Jean Dujardin, playing the central character George Valentin. You cannot help but absolutely love this man. What a face! Valentin is a huge silent film star as the movie begins. But it is 1927 and the talkie has come to town, and he is trying desperately to remain on top, while refusing to bow to the new technology.

Enter Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), a pretty young starlet on the rise, and you have the makings of a wonderful, sweet, sad, funny, surprising, and unbelievably affecting story. Yes, even without (or maybe because of the lack of) dialogue, you are captivated from beginning to end.

I remember in film school they taught us that the essence of filmmaking is telling a story in pictures. And boy, has Michel Hazanavicius done it here! It is really hard to describe, but you must go and see for yourself. Dujardin won the Best Actor prize at Cannes, and the film got a 20-minute standing ovation. I am not surprised in the least. I saw it at a festival and it is opening in limited release later this month. It is a French film, shot in Hollywood, so I have no idea if it will be eligible for The Oscar or has to make do winning the Best Foreign language category, but The Artist will undoubtedly be one of the films everyone is talking about. Genius!

Also starring John Goodman, James Cromwell, Malcolm McDowell, Penelope Ann Miller and a slew of other great modern Hollywood stars.

It’s time to play the music. It’s time to light the lights…

It’s been more than a decade since Kermit and the gang were together on the big screen and this movie’s plot is all about reuniting them. It begins with a trip to the now decrepit Muppet studios in Hollywood by the world’s biggest Muppets fan, Walter (a Muppet himself although he doesn’t realize it yet), and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams). While they’re there, Walter overhears a plot by nefarious oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to gain ownership of the place so he can tear it down and drill for oil.  Walter is devastated.

The only way to save the studio is for Kermit the Frog to come up with ten million dollars. Walter, Gary and Mary track him down at his run-down Bel Air mansion and convince him he’s got to try to do it. They set out to find the rest of the gang so they can stage a Muppet telethon to raise the money. The first stop is Reno, where Fozzie Bear is performing with a “tribute” act called “The Moopets.” They track down Gonzo, who’s now a plumbing magnate, and Animal, who’s in rehab for anger management. Then they tell us it’s ”time for a montage” as they pick up the rest of the cast – except for Miss Piggy. She proves a bit more difficult to convince. After all, she’s built a new life for herself as the plus-size editor of Vogue in Paris.

Then it’s a race against time to convince a network, any network, to air their telethon and find a celebrity host. Will they get the show together in time? Will they raise the money to save the studios? It’s a Muppet movie – what do you think? It’s all about the journey, not the destination with the Muppets. And there are classic Muppet elements all along the way: musical numbers – some that, admittedly, I thought dragged a bit – characters breaking the fourth wall – like that “time for a montage” reference – and celebrity cameos galore.

For me, a Muppets fan from back in the day, it was just right and it plays well to the next generation too. My eight-year old movie companion says he loved it too because it was “funny and so cool.” He particularly enjoyed when Miss Piggy jumped on Kermit, and Fozzie’s fart shoes were “hilarious and so farty that they made me laugh like heck!” This movie’s a winner for all ages. Enjoy the show!

Sometimes you just need to see a movie that is not all flashy and star-filled. There is a strange joy in watching actors you’ve never seen before since you bring no expectations to their performances. The Lie is one of those little indie treats. It is based on a short story by T. Coraghessan Boyle about a 30-something guy who wakes up to his going nowhere life and concocts a lie to get out of work, which then spirals out of control.

Joshua Leonard whose big acting break came in 1999 with Blair Witch Project directs and stars in the film. (He shares a writing credit as well.) He plays Lonnie. Lonnie wanted to be a musician back when he was in college and still dreams of getting together a band with his buddy, only now he has a wife, Clover (Jess Weixler), in law school, and a cute little kid, and he’s stuck in a soul sucking job that he can’t leave because he needs to be “responsible.” The catalyst for his rebellion is when his idealist wife informs him that she has been offered a job with a pharmaceutical company. Lonnie’s job is drudgery and his boss a screamer, and he arrives at work one day and just decides he can’t go in, so he makes up an excuse, a little white lie. Then the next day he makes another and before you know it he has been gone for a week and as his boss threatens him, Lonnie throws out the biggest lie of all, one that he can’t take back and one that has severe repercussions.

The Lie is very well acted and apparently much of the dialogue is improvised. Fortunately, the chemistry between Lonnie and Clover is really good, so you enjoy the give and take of this young couple trying to decide what life is supposed to be about and whether they are selling out their former dreams. It is by turns both sweet and funny. And the kid is very cute. It is not a deep story, but it is one that many of us can relate to. Are we living the lives we dreamt of in our youth? The Lie is in theaters now, but it will also make a very good rental/stream when it comes out in a few months. It is one of the nicer little films I’ve seen in a while.

I’m not surprised. The dashing feline outlaw, voiced by Antonio Banderas, is irresistible. We first met Puss in the Shrek movies. But this is his story before he met the ogre and his donkey friend. We learn that Puss was raised in an orphanage in a western town called San Ricardo. But because of some youthful indiscretions, he became an outlaw there and had to flee. Now he has returned to redeem himself. To do that he decides to pull off one last caper and steal the goose that lays the golden eggs.

He reluctantly teams up with his old friend/nemesis Humpty “Alexander” Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) and a rival cat burglar called “Kitty Softpaws” (Salma Hayek) to go after the goose. But to get to it, they to get past the evil “Jack and Jill,” delightfully voiced by Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris. Yes, there are all kinds of fairytale references in the movie, but what you won’t see are any Shrek characters popping up, and that is a good thing. Doing that would have been a distraction. This is Puss’s tale and it is a good one.

The swashbuckling cat can more than carry his own movie, and he’s got a cast of interesting supporting characters. Humpty Dumpty has some serious issues – you might say he’s got layers – oh wait wrong movie. And in Kitty Softpaws, Puss has met his sword-fighting, flamenco dancing match, and naturally, love interest. Then there’s the “Ohhh Cat” – a minor character but unforgettable.

This is just a fun movie. Like any good animated feature, there’s enough sly adult humor to keep mom and dad amused and a great story with lots of action to keep the little ones happy. If you haven’t seen it already, take the kids, or go alone – like I did – if you’re just looking for 90 minutes of feeling like a kid again.

Consider it an early Christmas present for the not-so-easily offended, namely the devoted fans of the stoner franchise (the cult classic, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and its not-so-classic sequel, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay). I watched this movie with said fans (two gals and a guy) and here’s the consensus: 3D Christmas is not as good as the White Castle original, but it’s much better than Guantanamo Bay. All things considered, thumbs up, dude!

John Cho (Star Trek) and Kal Penn (House doc turned temporary White House staffer) reprise their roles as Harold and Kumar. It’s six years after their last adventure and the friends have drifted apart. Harold is now a banker, married and living in suburbia. Kumar hasn’t changed.

The pair is reunited in adventure and mayhem when Kumar stops by Harold’s house to drop off a package that arrived at their old address, and inadvertently sets Harold’s Christmas tree ablaze with a giant joint. The rest of the movie centers around their efforts to find a replacement tree before Harold’s family returns from midnight mass.

This movie is what it is – and it owns it – simultaneously mocking and embracing everything from 3D technology (watch out for flying smoke rings) to “spectacular” holiday production numbers (featuring the spectacular Neil Patrick Harris reprising his role as Neil Patrick Harris) to an irreverent (and very R-rated) twist on the tongue-stuck-to-a-flagpole scene from A Christmas Story.

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas is a dish best served to those with a Beavis and Butthead, Cheech and Chong, or South Park comic sensibility, if ya get my drift. If that’s not you – don’t go!!!! If it is you, you’ve probably already made plans to see it.

With its limited appeal, R rating, and 3D pricetag, I don’t think H&K will be setting the box office on fire.  There were only about 25 people in the theater for the showing I went to (on opening night no less). At least three walked out. The rest of us just sat back and enjoyed the 90-minute ride, safely shielded by darkness and 3D glasses.

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas is rated R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, drug use and some violence.  Merry Christmas, everybody!

To see the official trailer (i.e. a free, brief sanitized version of the entire movie), click here.