Review: The American

Review: The American

Rating: **

Nonna's Rating: $

Rotten Tomatoes: 64%

Another disappointing movie in an extremely disappointing summer of movies.

Imagine George Clooney spending most of his time putting guns together and doing his best to avoid being shot. Now, imagine him doing this without his God-given charm or playful sense of humor. No twinkles in his eye in this film. It's a slow-paced snooze with George's pecs and Violante Placido's (someone had to make that name up) lovely nakedness providing totally unnecessary and irrelevant eye candy.

There is one redeeming feature of this movie. It was filmed in the Italian hills of the province of Abruzzo, just east of Rome and the land of my ancestors. The ancient towns perched on the mountains all reminded me of Capestrano, the town from which my great-grandparents left for America. I did love the scenery, but it's definitely not Tuscany. No lush green fields; no vines heavy with grapes (although Montepulciano is from this area). It's rugged, arid rocky land in the summer and wet and dreary in the winter -- and that's why so many people emigrated over 100 years ago.

Nonna's Ratings:

$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price

$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it

Review: Get Low

Review: Get Low

Rating: ***

Nonna's Rating: $$$

Rotten Tomatoes: 86%

It's a simple, little story set in the Despression -- hardly enough to make a movie. Robert Duvall portrays a Tennessee recluse, a man who has stayed as far away from people as possible for 40 years. Nearing the end of his life, he decides that he will use his savings to throw himself a funeral -- which he plans to attend. He does this hoping that the people who have known him will tell stories about him; he wants them to tell the one story he can't bear to tell.

Bill Murray plays the funeral director who assists him in his plans. Again, Murray shows us his considerable acting talent. I found it impossible not to imagine his character's likely colorful backstory: a series of careers cut short by a series of indiscretions, I'm sure.

At the end of the film, Duvall makes a speech which reminds us why we have loved to watch his movies for the past 50 years. He makes a confession and, in turn, is given grace and redemption.

Nonna's Ratings:

$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price

$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it