Lost In Translation

I enjoyed seeing Lost in Translation when it came out in 2003, and I was happy to see that it was available on HBO. I liked this film just as much the second time as I did during my first viewing. It is the story of a washed up movie star, Bob Harris, played by Bill Murray. He has traveled to Tokyo to film an ad for a Japanese whisky. During his week in Tokyo he meets up with a much younger lady named Charlotte, played by Scarlett Johansson, who is visiting Tokyo with her ever absent photographer husband. Over this week they become friends and possibly fall in love. You will have to see the movie to understand my last sentence.  If you have not seen this well-acted movie, I recommend that you put it on a list to see.

Watching this movie reminded me of the time that I spent in the great city of Tokyo. It is a fabulous city to see. I hope to return someday.

Contagion

Contagion is a fast-paced thriller in which a hybrid virus created from bat and pig DNA rapidly spreads around the world killing millions of people. It begins with Gwyneth Paltrow, Beth, contracting the virus on a trip to Hong Kong. Quickly after her return to the US she dies of this viscous virus. This sets in motion the entire plot of the film. You follow her husband played by Matt Damon and his quest to save his daughter. You also follow Laurence Fishburne, Dr. Cheever, a doctor at the Center For Disease Control in Atlanta. Additionally, you follow both those affected by the virus plus the people who stand to make money on the pandemic. It is good movie and as good as any other epidemic film that I have seen over the years. Check it out.

One Day

One Day is a well acted romance staring Emma, Anne Hathaway, and Dexter, Jim Sturgess. These two very different people meet on the night of their graduation from the university. Thus begins a 20-year friendship of the shy and unsure Emma with the chick magnet outgoing Jim. Actually, they decide to meet each 15 July to catch up on what is happening in their lives. I will not tell you anything more about the plot, but I can tell you that the acting is great and the story is refreshing in a day when films tell the same story over and over again. If you like romantic dramas, then I recommend seeing One Day.

Rise of the Planet of Apes

Last night I was in the mood for something different and I found that Rise of the Planet of Apes had been released on iTunes. I had enjoyed the in initial Planet of the Apes film but was not as impressed with those that followed. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is the prequel to Planet of the Apes. It stars James Franco, Andy Serkis and Freida Pinto. They, the humans, are the weakest link in this not-too-bad movie. It is the CG apes and Andy Serkis, who plays Caesar, the leader of the apes, that makes this a decent flick. However, it is fairly predictable using the failed-scientific experiment going wrong scenario that leads to a rebellion of apes led by Caesar. You will probable enjoy this entertaining movie if you enjoyed the initial Ape films.

Midnight in Paris

I have been waiting months to see this movie. I almost trudged off to a movie theatre to see this when it came out in May. It was worth the wait because this is the best Woody Allen movie that I have seen. It stars Owen Wilson, Gil, who is engaged to Rachel McAdams, Inez. They are on a trip to Paris with Inez's parents when they run into friends, Paul and Carol, from the States. Paul and Carol invite them to do different things around Paris. Gil immediately dislikes Paul, a know-it-all intellectual, but Inez is enthralled with him. Gil decides to go off each night and enjoy Paris his way. One night at midnight he is picked up in a classic car from the 1920s and whisked off to a party. He quickly realizes that things have changed especially after being introduced to Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald followed by Ernest Hemingway and then Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates). On subsequent midnight outings he meets many of the cognoscenti that lived in Paris at that time: Picasso, Dali (Adrien Brody), Cole Porter, Man Ray, . . .  Along the way he meets Picasso's girlfriend Adriana played by the most beautiful Marion Cotillard. They walk through the city talking and ultimately fall in love. I guess you can see I loved this movie and I have already told you too much. This is definitely one that you should see.

Ivanhoe (1952)

I like the old movies even though they do not have the CG and realism of today's movies. Last night I saw Ivanhoe starring Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor and Joan Fontaine. It is the classic story that I read in English class at Forest Park High School in the early 1960s. Thinking back, I do not remember seeing this movie because it was released in 1952 when I was only eight years old plus it was before VCRs. Ivanhoe is a supporter of King Richard the Lionheart who is imprisoned in Austria while his brother the bad King John has taken the England throne with the help of the Normans. You remember the story because you too probably read Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. It is hard to go wrong with a movie that stars Robert Taylor (Ivanhoe), Elizabeth Taylor (the Jewess Rebecca), and Joan Fontaine (Rowena). Check it out.

The Adjustment Bureau

The Adjustment Bureau is an action film that makes you think about free will. In The Adjustment Bureau a politician David Norris played by Matt Damon meets a beautiful ballet dancer Elise Sellas played by Emily Blunt. David falls in love with Emily on their first meeting, but things go bad from there. A group of men, wearing hats, purse David and tell him that he is not to see Emily again, and, if he does, they, the Adjustment Bureau, will wipe his memories from his brain. Thus, the movie follows David's quest to be reunited with Emily as he tries to avoid the sinister organization that claims to control human activity. It is a decent movie worth watching but not a really great movie.

Cowboys & Aliens

On a whim I decided to watch this Western/Sci Fi movie. It was a pleasant surprise that it is a decent movie with lots of action and fun. Who would have thought of bringing aliens bent of taking over the planet to the Arizona Territory in the 1870s? It has a great cast of characters including Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde (from House). Daniel Craig is the main character, Jake Lonergan. When you meet him in the opening scenes of the movie you see that he has a high-tech device on his left arm. This is strange for a cowboy, actually a bandit. While Harrison Ford, Woodrow Dolarhyde, is good in almost everything that he does, you will feel that this movie is not one of his best. Maybe, we do not think of him in the same light playing an older bad-guy character. We remember him as Indiana Jones. 

The Debt (2010)

This espionage thriller stars Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington and Tom Wilkinson. All of them are very convincing in their roles as Mossad agents who are dispatched in 1965 to bring home Dr. Dieter Vogel, the Surgeon of Birkenau (based on the real-life Josef Mengele). The movie begins in Israel in 1997 when you learn of the heroics of the three-spy team that dispatched Dr. Dieter Vogel. The Debt then flips back and forth in time creating a thrilling spy movie that is as good as any in the last decade. I recommend that you see this well-acted thriller.

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness is the story of Gladys Aylward, played by Ingrid Bergman, an English lady who travels to China to set up a mission in Northern China. As soon as you know that Ingrid Bergman is the leading actress, you know that you will see a superior movie. She carries the entire movie to the level that it was nominated for a couple of Academy Awards.