April 29th
The Diving Bell and The
Butterfly (Miramax)
Julian Schnabel nearly
made himself a household name in the United States by directing this French
film. He was nominated for an Academy
Award, but lost to the Coen brothers (No Country For Old Men). If you ask me, the Academy got it wrong. But what’s new? The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is
simply one of the most unbelievable stories I have ever witnessed. What makes it more unbelievable is the fact
that it is true. The film tells the
story of French Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who, at the age of 42,
suffers a massive and immobilizing stroke.
Physicians determine he has Locked-In Syndrome. He can hear and comprehend; he just cannot
move or communicate. That is until his
speech therapist, Henriette, guides him through the tedious and exhausting
process of communicating with his left eye, the only body part he can
move. He can blink it so she wants him
to use it. Basically, Henriette recites
the letters of the alphabet and Jean-Dominique blinks when she gets to the next
letter in the word he’s trying to convey.
I know what you’re thinking. That
would require insane amounts of patience.
Well, consider this . . . Bauby blinked out his entire autobiography, The
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and his assistant, Claude, transcribed the
whole manuscript. Look! This is amazing. Schnabel shoots much of the movie from
Jean-Do’s point of view from his one good eye.
The direction is ingenious, the performances are sensational and the
film is inspirational. This is a rare
MUST SEE! GRADE: B+
April 29th
The Golden Compass (New Line Cinema)
This mystical, and
sometimes magical adventure flick is written and directed by Chris Weitz, who
gave us 2002’s comedy-drama About a Boy.
This endeavor is a far more elaborate undertaking than that Hugh Grant
vehicle. In fact, it’s a trilogy that
its stars, Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman, committed to before the first
installment ever wrapped. The Golden
Compass is a Lord-of-the-Rings/Narnia-type effort that achieves only
half the results. It’s like Rachel Ray
making a meal in 35 or 40 minutes. It
slightly disappoints. Lord of the
Rings had me hooked. When Part
One of that trilogy ended, I couldn’t wait for the next eleven months to
zip by so I could see Part Two. (You
know a film is a success if it makes you will your life away so you can hurry
up and get to the sequel). Excuse the
following pun, I didn’t get that same “reading” from The Golden
Compass. This story, about a strange
phenomenon called “Dust” and a bizarre cult called “The Magisterium” is so
complex and weird, I’m just not sure I care what happens next. GRADE:
B-
May 6th
Over Her Dead Body (New Line)
What a great idea! Her dead body! Desperate Housewife Eva Longoria stars
as Kate, a woman crushed on her wedding day by a gigantic and tacky ice
sculpture! Now, don’t feel too
badly. She got on my nerves and deserved
it. In fact, if I was at the wedding and
the ice sculpture hit her, then broke into a thousand bits on the pavement, I
would have been the first to scream, “No harm done! Get some fruit flavoring and we’ll make
slushies!” Over Her Dead Body is
full of juvenile, slapstick comedy and is chock-full of one-trick ponies
(Hey! There’s your obligatory Kentucky
Derby reference! It is News 4U‘s May
edition after all!) Eva Longoria proves
that Gabrielle Solis is the only character she can play. Paul Rudd does his tired, one-expression
(smug) routine. Lake Bell (whoever the
hell that is) is as mechanical as C-3PO.
And Jason Biggs reminds us that the only time he was funny was when he
was deflowering his mother’s apple pie.
Will anyone I know rent this?
Over my dead body! GRADE: F
May 20th
National Treasure: Book of Secrets (Buena Vista)
The 2007 holiday movie
season was full of disappointments. Sweeney
Todd made me want shave my face off and Charlie Wilson’s War made me
want to strap explosives to my body like an Afghan rebel. If you had tried to convince me that National
Treasure was going to be one of the surprises of December, I would have
called the white coats and had you carted off for some electroshock
therapy. I didn’t care for 2004’s National
Treasure at all and I was dreading the sequel like a hernia test. But Book of Secrets is an
action-packed delight. Sometimes a good
old-fashioned popcorn flick is just what the doctor (or Orville Redenbacher)
ordered. And I must mention the glorious
Helen Mirren, who stars as Ben Gates’ (Nicolas Cage) mother. Even in a rollicking action flick, she proves
she is The Queen. GRADE: B-
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