Review: I Love You, Man

Review: I Love You, Man

Rating: ***1/2

Nonna's Rating: $$$

Rotten Tomatoes: 80%

I heartily recommend this movie. Yes, the humor can be crude and tasteless, but it is balanced by a pervasive sweetness. Peter, played by Paul Rudd, is engaged to Zooey (Rashida Jones of The Office). Zooey has a small crowd of friends who will be her wedding attendants; Peter, unfortunately, has no strong friendships with other men; he's not even close with his father or brother. So, Peter sets out to make some friends.

Some critics have said that this situation is totally unbelievable. I beg to differ. Most definitely, I have known men who were more comfortable around women, who enjoyed their company and felt socially inept around other men -- especially men who can be described as "guys' guys." Such women-loving men are not adept at sportstalk, the guy language of choice. They also don't spend much time complaining about women and their idiosyncracies -- or bragging about sexual conquests, the provence of men's men.

So, Peter decides to befriend a man, and his attempts provide a great deal of comic relief. He finally hooks up with Sydney, a guy secure enough to wear shorts and Uggs to walk his dog. As one critic points out, Sydney (Jason Segal) is a little bit like "The Dude" in The Great Labowski -- just not living so close to the edges of society.

By the end of the movie, Peter has learned more about himself and about his relationship with Zooey. Syndey also manages to grow up a bit. It's a delightful 90 minutes.

Nonna's Ratings:

$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price
$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it

Review: Monsters vs. Aliens

Review: Monsters vs. Aliens

Rating: **

Nonna's Rating: $$

Rotten Tomatoes: 73%

This one I did see in 3D -- and the effects were excellent. I heard on NPR that we can expect most feature-length cartoons from the big studios to be in 3D from now on. That will be fun -- but expensive because afternoon bargain prices do not seem to be operative for 3D movies. Eleven or twelve dollar admission is typical -- even for four-year-olds.

The film was entertaining enough for me, but my 11 and 4 "and a half" year old grandsons thought it was quite wonderful. To clarify their evaluations, I asked, "Was it better than Kung Fu Panda?" "No," they said. Panda is the gold standard in movies as far as they are concerned.

Nonna's Ratings:

$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price
$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it

Review: Adventureland

Review: Adventureland

Rating: ***

Nonna's Rating: $$

Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

One critic complained that movies about boring people with boring lives are boring -- and not worth making. Probably true, but I certainly didn't find these character boring people. Adventureland is a coming of age story. Like any bildungsroman, it is necessarily formulaic. A callow youth will grow from child to adult. He will be restless at first, discontent and somewhat cynical about his life as it is. As time passes, he will grow, usually making mistakes along the way. He will spend a good deal of time bashing his head against societal mores, but, eventually, he will be incorporated in that society in some meaningful way -- finally at peace. Well, maybe I'm claiming too much for this film, but I did not find it boring. It's a sweet, funny story with a great 80s soundtrack.

Nonna's Ratings:

$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price
$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it

Review: Duplicity

Review: Duplicity

Rating: ***

Nonna's Rating: $$

Rotten Tomatoes: 66%

OK, I confess. I had no idea what was going on in this movie. Don't ask me why they did this or that. I probably won't have an explanation. I could follow it well enough, but, when it was over, I started to ask questions like "Why didn't they just . . . ? Wouldn't they have accomplished the same thing if they'd only . . . ?"

The fact is that you don't really care about the answers. The film is only worth watching for two good reasons: Clive Owen and Julia Roberts. Both their delightful selves exude all over the screen. When they're not on camera, you really don't care. I guess that's star power. Without them, this film would never have been made. After all, they're spies who used to be in the CIA and MI5. Now, they just spy for corporations. No, not arms manufacturers. Pizza and beauty product manufacturers. Who else but these two could have made that interesting?

But I must mention one other standout performance in the film -- that of Paul Giamatti. Mr. Giamatti is the male Meryl Streep. He embodies his characters to the extent that we forget that Giamatti inhabits them. In this movie, he plays a corporate CEO for whom business is war. He should be nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor Oscar for one unforgettable scene in which he addresses his troops as effectively as Henry V at Agincourt.

Nonna's Ratings:

$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price
$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it

Review: In Bruges

Review: In Bruges

Rating: ***1/2

Nonna's Rating: $$$

Rotten Tomatoes: 80%

Two professional hitmen hide in Bruges after a tragically bungled hit. One of them, played by Brendan Gleason, is a world-weary, experienced caretaker of sort (and I use that term in the broadest of senses). The other, played by Colin Ferrell, is the bungler -- and a liability as far as their boss, played by Ralph Fiennes (very much against type), is concerned. I hesitate to reveal any more. The plot is full of twists and turns as well as blood and comedy.

The juxtaposition of gore and extremely funny situations works somehow. And the director and writer, Martin McDonagh, manages to deliver a story in which we actually find ourselves caring about a couple of hitmen. Of course, credit must also go to the actors. We learn very little about their histories, but we know their stories just by looking at their faces. Brendan Gleason's existential angst is palpable; his altruism is almost saintly -- in a world where Satan is god. Colin Farrell's performance is nothing short of brilliant. His eyebrows could win an Oscar. And Ralph Fiennes is one scary dude -- a devoted English family man in the tradition of Tony Soprano.

A few critics have found the ending contrived and artificial. I found it believable and satisfying. What goes around comes around.

Nonna's Ratings:

$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price
$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it

Review: Coraline

Review: Coraline

Rating: ***

Nonna's Rating: $$$

Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

Coraline is a stunningly beautiful animated work -- and I didn't even see it in 3D. The stop-motion animation is far beyond herky-jerky earlier efforts like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

If there is any drawback to this film, it is that it's really not appropriate for children -- perhaps even nine and ten-year-olds. Coraline is a little girl whose workaholic parents basically ignore her -- they practice a benign neglect. Coraline wishes for a different sort of life, and, yes, she gets what she wishes for. And it's one scary world through that secret door. Like Alice, she moves through the looking glass into an alternate reality. At first, it's heaven. Super-attentive parents indulge her every whim -- and her "mother" actually prepares elaborate tasty meals. Coraline, however, chooses to ignore the fact that these dream parents have buttons for eyes. All turns very dark when Coraline understands that she is trapped in this new world, and that she, too, must have buttons for eyes. I don't know about you, but that really creeps me out. Needles. Eyes. Yuk.

But I loved it.

Nonna's Ratings:

$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price
$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it

Review: Marley and Me

Review: Marley and Me

Rating: **1/2

Nonna's Rating: $$

Rotten Tomatoes: 60%

This film earns **1/2 not because it is exceptionally well written or well-acted, but because it's one of those rare movies adults can actually enjoy along with their children -- well, at least children who are a bit older and can handle some scenes guaranteed to get the tears flowing . It's engaging enough. Jennifer Anniston dutifully delivers her lines in a part (the wife) that's not particularly challenging or very different from anything else she's played. Owen Wilson, who seems to inspire either a "love him" or "hate him"response from moviegoers, manages to be his charming self and sets us up for a surprisingly philosophical -- and close to profound -- ending. Even though I'm not a dog owner, I was sucked into the sentimental appeal of the frustrating-but-lovable-puppy story. For about 20 minutes after the movie, I thought seriously about getting a dog -- that's how charming the film is. I was able to overcome my temporary insanity however.

Marley and Me has managed to do almost $150 million in U.S. box office receipts since its release at the end of 2008. Certainly, there's a natural appeal to dog owners, but that alone doesn't explain the film's success. When all is said and done, it's simply a charming film -- the kind people will buy for their video libraries. And they'll tell themselves they know what's coming, so they'll be convinced they won't cry. And then they'll find themselves weeping through the end -- the same way they do every time they view it.

Nonna's Ratings:

$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price
$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it