Momma's Past Picks 'n Pans 
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Directed by Stephen Daldry Written by Lee Hall Billy Elliot is the type of film that will steal your heart. No big bells and whistles, just down home real drama about real people. The story is the heartbeat of any film and this one will have you laughing, crying, and ultimately cheering! The 11 year old Bell gives an Oscar winning performance as Billy, a boy finding his own individuality & dancing literally to his own drummer while his family and townsfolk in northern England are struggling while deep in the throes of a miners' strike. This compassionate film will ring true for young and old alike and is a veritable joy to watch. Mix together Stephen Warbuck's soaring score, a script that rings true with human emotion, an ensemble cast of wonderful actors, produce it by the talented group that favored us previously with Four Weddings and a Funeral and your end result is one mighty fine movie! Enjoy life's dance & Billy! |
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Directed by Jay Roach Written by James Hertzfeld & John Hamburg In Meet The Parents everything goes wrong when a lovely young woman (Teri Polo) takes her fiance (Ben Stiller) home to meet her overly protective dad (Robert DeNiro) & mom (Blythe Danner). DeNiro & Stiller did play well off each other & I actually laughed out loud a few times. All in all, I found the film intermittently enjoyable, but not a knee slapper like the hilarious analyze this Stiller's running confrontation with unhelpful airline personnel & his hilarious rant to a hidden camera cracked me up. However the designated funny spots were infrequent & all so over-exposed in the theatre previews & endless television spots, that by the time I saw them within the context of the film they were far too familiar & stale. I'm really tired of previews giving away all the surprises in their efforts to draw us into buying that ticket. |
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Directed by Bruce Paltrow Written by John Byrum Duets is a tale about six lost souls in search of a little harmony. Their separate paths to freedom take us thru karaoke, I repeat, karaoke bars. Yet if you really think about it, there's no better place to find that much needed unconditional ego building acceptance & the promise of 5 minutes of spot lighted fame than in the atmosphere of the criticism free karaoke bar. Don't believe me? Just ask any wannabe singer who croons in the shower, karaokes, or has ever owned a Mr. Microphone! Our six lost souls...
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Directed by Joe Charbanic Written by Darcy Meyers & David Elliot The Watcher is basically a cinematic cat and mouse game between FBI Agent Joel Campbell (James Spader) & his long time nemesis serial killer David Allen Griffin (Keanu Reeves). When we first meet our FBI man, he's emotionally drained, physically wrecked & under the nurturing care of therapist (Marisa Tomei). Griffin arrives to torment his old adversary & embarks on a whole new string of slayings. Both male leads are cast against type with Reeves doing surprisingly well in the role of the serial killer & Spader giving one of his top notch gritty performances as our burnt out chaser. The story was nothing too out of the ordinary, yet it still worked for me. I recommend the adventure as a watchable guilty pleasure. Simply turn off your brain & enjoy the ride. |
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Directed by Nigel Cole Written by Mark Crowdy & Craig Ferguson The British are coming... The British are coming and thankfully for movie lovers, they bring us the absolutely delightful Saving Grace SYNOPSIS: Grace (Blethyn) is a widow left with tremendous debt after her husband dies. In an attempt to make money, she teams up with her former caretaker (Ferguson), who encourages her to use her gardening skills to save the day. The two cook up a scheme to grow marijuana in an orchid hothouse. And the games begin... Great actors, an oscar nominee actress, stunning scenery, good strong story line and more laughs than you can fit into my paper bags. This film was brilliant and totally enjoyable from start to finish. Set to the beat of a rockin' sound track, this clever tale was generously sprinkled with humanity & charm. The funny moments were side splitting to say the least. I have never heard a cinema audience laugh so much, and tears were streaming down my cheeks during scene after funny scene. This movie going experience was a real high with an afterglow like a long lasting pleasant buzz. So let's just say "Yes!" to Saving Grace! |
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Directed by Tarsem Singh Written by Mark Protosevich Save your money boyz 'n girlz!
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Directed by Clint Eastwood Written by Ken Kaufman In Space Cowboys Eastwood plays Frank Corvin, a retired Air Force test pilot recruited by his old nemesis, NASA exec Bob Gerson (James Cromwell), to reprogram an inoperative Russian satellite about to come crashing down to earth. Frank takes the job on the condition that he be allowed to take with him his old, formerly hot-shot flying team (James Garner, Donald Sutherland, Tommy Lee Jones), all of whom were denied the opportunity for space flight 40 years ago by Gerson. Sadly it's been many months since I've had the pleasure of walking into the theatre & enjoying a great Five Bagger like High Fidelity & I was counting on Eastwood to finally make my day with Space Cowboys. Sadly he not only didn't make my day, he took me to places I've been to waaaay too many times before! Why people... Why spend all the money on a great cast & captivating special effects only to insult our intelligence and bore us with a lame unoriginal story? The first 2/3 of the movie was entertaining. The screen presence of the four veteran actors interacting was charming to watch. But "Danger! Danger Will Robinson!" as quickly as you can say "pancreatic cancer", I knew exactly what was going to happen next & how the movie was going to end without even seeing the script. Now don't you hate it when that happens? So for the last 1/3 of the movie (45 endless minutes earthtime) we're bombarded with not the Right Stuff, but the Overly Ripe Stuff of Armageddon, Apollo 13, & Mission to Mars. Gawd help us, a lame version of the Dr. Strangelove scene in which Slim Pickens rides a nuclear device into the abyss even made it into the mix. Puh-leeze the writers must of been lost in space!
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Directed by Roland Emmerich Written by Robert Rodat The Patriot, a Revolutionary War story, gives us a much needed dose of Mel & other manly hunks cavorting about in delicious puffy white shirts, some excellent supporting performances (Heath Ledger is sure to be seen again as he's a talented doll & Tchéky Karyo always is a delight to watch!), breathtaking cinematography and a soaring John Williams sound track. The film is at times entertaining and heart tugging ... but sadly no stagnant cliché is left unturned and I found myself never fully involved in this contrived 1776 story. Gibson is the main draw (Hence the four bag rating instead of the deserved three), and he does provide an on-fire performance that drives the movie & exceeds the limitations of Rodat's formulaic script. But if you crave a soaring saga, forget the theatre 'n rent Mel's flawless Brave Heart
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Directed by John Singleton Written by Shane Salerno & Richard Price
Any Questions? Why oh why collect such a fine ensemble cast, center them with The perfect Man for 2000, a stylin' Samuel Jackson, & then give them all nothing to do or say that hadn't been done or said before? Talk about your under-utilization... your disappointment! I was definately primed for this puppy. I mean a sound track by Isaac Hayes and Samuel as The Man. A cameo by The original Man, Richard Roundtree. What's not to love? The story... Could I dig it? ... NOT! Sadly, I was totally bored 'n unengaged by the weak uninspired script. Although Jackson did indeed loom large upon the screen 'n breathed new life into the beloved Shaft character, this film going experience was very much like receiving a beautifully decorated present only to find, after undoing all the glittery ribbons & wrappings, simply no gift inside... just an empty box. Let's hope Sam will return in a future sequel as The Man, but the next time out make sure to give him a tale to tell & DON'T FORGET to load him up with that all important double dose of Viagra paleeze! I gave one bag for italian stallion Armani's gorgeous delicious duds... ciao!
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Directed by Tom Dey Written by Miles Millar & Alfred Gough Well I was in the mood for something mindless 'n fun and the idea of Jackie Chan, master martial artist 'n stuntman, on a horse definately filled the bill. Shanghai Noon is an entertaining "Far East Meets the Wild West" action movie. When a beautiful Princess Pei Pei (Liu) is kidnapped and brought to America, Chinese Imperial Guard Wang (Chan... in my favorite role to date) is sent to rescue her and, teaming up with a rascal train robber he doesn't trust (Wilson... a younger version of Robert Redford only with a broken nose) and saddled with a horse he can't ride, Wang attempts to save the girl and get the gold. Not a new plot line here, but you'll get enough razzle-dazzle fight sequences & male bonding comedy to satisfy your guilty pleasure needs. So get in touch with your inner 13 year old child, see this silly saga & ya might even laugh out loud & squirt coke outta your nose at some of the funny scenes. One half bag for Chan's talented horse!
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