In the Valley of Elah, Feast of Love, and more!

In the Valley of Elah - There are people who didn't like Paul Haggis' directorial debut Crash because it was soapy and over-dramatic. I absolutely loved Crash but I do understand where said critics are coming from. The thing about In the Valley of Elah is that it proves that Haggis embraced one of the most wonderful tools a director has in his arsenal: restraint. Instead of going with the interconnected multiple story lines, Elah follows one main story throughout the film. Instead of going for the overly-emotional, this film embraces understated performances, namely from Tommy Lee Jones who is just spectacular in this movie. It is actually very brave of Haggis to make serious changes to the style that won him Best Picture at the Oscars. It's even more impressive that it works so well for him. To the story, Hank (Jones, in his best performance) goes searching for his son (Jonathan Tucker - although he's barely in it) and he meets a lot of military people who don't really want to tell him much. He tries to get help from the cops. At first they don't want to help him find out where his son is either. He starts investigating by himself but is soon joined by a cop played by Charlize Theron. One of the things I like about the movie is it doesn't preach it's message. Clearly, it's got quite a few negative things to say about the war in Iraq but it's all done very subtley and the film isn't a two hour tirade against it. Tommy Lee Jones' performance could quite possibly be the best of his career. He is the strong, silent type and brings so much emotion to the role. Theron is strong as well but nothing to write home about. Sarandon may be a tad underused but she's powerful and perfect when she's featured. The film isn't necessarily long (2 hours) but it feels long. At first I wasn't sure I liked the ending but the more I think about it, the more I do. I was waiting for a conspiracy, the other shoe to drop, so to speak. But, sometimes, the motives for things aren't so cut and dry. War changes people. In the Valley of Elah is a strong film about the effects of war on people. It's also a solid crime thriller. I'm not sure it will win Best Picture but there will probably be at least three Oscar nominations (Jones, Sarandon, Screenplay). It's an easy film to get interested in. It's captivating and very moving.

Grade: B

Feast of Love - Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this movie. I thought it was going to be just another sappy, cheesy love story. But I was pleasantly surprised. It's a funny, smart, sexy, tragic story about relationships - not just romantic relationships but the relationships we form with different people in our lives. The movie stars Morgan Freeman as Harry, a college professor who is struggling with the death of his son to a drug overdose and who extends his leave of absence at the University of Portland. Meanwhile, he becomes a sort of father figure to numorous other characters including Bradley's (Greg Kinnear) hopeless romantic but bad luck with love coffee shop owner. At first he's married to Kathryn (Selma Blair). But then she leaves him for another woman. Next he gets married to Diana (Radha Mitchell) who is having an affair with a married man, David, played by Billy Burke. The affair was going on before she met Bradley and it continues up until she marries Bradley and then continues when she leaves Bradley for David. While Bradley is unlucky in love, star crossed young lovers Chloe and Oscar (Alexa Davalos and Toby Hemingway - each prettier than the other) fall in love at first sight and their passion and love overcomes the fact that they have no money, only a dream for the future where they'll live in a house with a foyer. This film peels back the layers of humanity and explores the different personalities within people. The number of intimate moments (so much nudity) and personal insecurities are too many to count and list. But isn't that like in real life? This film is very realistic. Very rarely do you see movies like this on-screen. Is it a little watered down? Sure. But it's more realistic than most 'romance' movies. The best story line probably follows Freeman and Jane Alexander as an interracial couple hurting deeply from the loss of their son but the strength of their relationship allows them to deal with the grief in separate ways. It's no light-hearted chick flick. Thank God! It's interesting and tender and heartbreaking and just plain realistic. It's not a romantic drama. It's a human drama and it's surprisingly endearing.

Grade: B-

Hot Fuzz - The movie is mostly funny and well done. Lots of great action film throw backs. However, it's about 25 minutes too long. Still, enjoyable. Grade: C+

The Game Plan - Ugh. There were a few things I laughed at so it makes it better than Good Luck Chuck, for sure. The Rock isn't a great actor but at the very least he has charm and charisma. Predictable. Whatever. Grade: D+

October Movie Preview

October 5 - I'll be rushing to see Feel the Noise since I love urban dance movies. The Heartbreak Kid, I guess, is the big draw. I'm not really a fan of Ben Stiller's but I'll check it out anyway. In non-movie news, the new season of Friday Night Lights premieres. If you don't watch it, you don't know what you're missing. It's the best show on television. Period.

October 12 - Michael Clayton opens wide. I can take or leave George Clooney but I'll be there because of Tilda Swinton and Tom Wilkinson (who looks like he rocks this movie!). Elizabeth: The Golden Age opens. Cate Blanchett will probably be Oscar nominated. The movie stars a lot of pretty people - Cate, Clive Owen, Abbie Cornish, Samantha Morton. Too bad the whole thing just looks so unnecessary. Lars and the Real Girls opens in limited so if you live in a city you can see Ryan Gosling have sex with a blow-up doll. Color me jealous. Then there is a potentially good / potentially bad movie starring one of my movie star boyfriends (I should make a list of them all, huh?). We Own The Night stars Joaquin Phoenix and I'll be there because he's SEXY.

October 19 - The coolest idea for a vampire movie EVER opens, 30 Days of Night and it stars Ben Foster so you know it's going to be way cool. Some probably-dumb sports movie spoof called The Comebacks open. Jan from The Office is in it. Too bad that won't make me go see it. Ben Affleck's directorial debut Gone Baby Gone opens. It stars his younger (cooler) brother Casey Affleck. It's based on a book by the guy that wrote Mystic River. It may be awesome. We'll see if Ben is a better director than he has been an actor lately. Rendition opens. It stars lots of Oscar winners/nominees (Meryl! Reese! Jake! - Peter Sarsgaard gets no love in the trailer because he's never been nominated). I sort of think this movie has TRAINWRECK written all over it. Reservation Road opens in limited. More Joaquin although the movie looks like an In The Bedroom rip-off. Things We Lost in the Fire opens. It stars Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro. The trailer is, quite possibly, the worst trailer ever made. I have faith in Benicio. I do NOT have faith in Halle. Wristcutters: A Love Story opens in very limited release. With a name like that, man, you know it's my kind of movie.

October 26 - The trailer for Dan in Real Life only makes me feel sad for Steve Carrell and his choice of films as of late. But it doesn't matter almost because no one is going to see that movie. Wanna know why? Saw IV opens. I liked the first one, hated the second one and loved the third one. We'll see where this one falls in the spectrum.