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Reviews written by digby

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Phoebe in Wonderland

Movie Reviews

A poorly executed great idea with stellar acting performances

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A poorly executed great idea with stellar acting performances

Review

While Phoebe in Wonderland has a very interesting premise, it is a little difficult to decipher what exactly this movie is trying to do. It felt like the director set out to do many things with this movie, but fell short of achieving any of them thoroughly. The movie had a lot of potential to tap into many different themes and ideas, but at the end of the movie, none of them felt complete.

Phoebe in Wonderland is a story about a young girl, age 10, named Phoebe who is struggling to find her place in a structured, rule-filled academic environment. She displays signs of a disorder, possibly Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, such as washing her hands until they bleed, or performing difficult rituals over and over again until they’re perfect. These behaviors, as well as other personality ticks, keep her from fitting in at school. Her struggle with the world that she lives in leads her to create her own wonderland that she can escape to.

So, while there were signs of a clinical disorder, there also appeared to be some sort of youth existential crisis-like issues – her disorientation and disillusion with the face of her apparently illogically rigid world – that Phoebe was going through. This is where I think that the film ran into issues of taking on more than it could effectively work through. If this movie was setting out to tell the tale of a girl with a disorder, and the way that it affects her life and the lives of the people around her, it could have done a good job. However, it felt like the movie was trying to achieve more than that, depicting a very intelligent and bored-with-the-normalcy-and-rigidity-of-her-world girl, which just caused it all to fall short.
As a movie as a depiction of a child with a disorder, it feels incomplete. The first half shows a very gritty view of the difficulties and complications of living with a disorder, both from the point of view of the child with the disorder as well as from the family’s point of view. The watcher is able to fully feel the impact on both the child struggling and the repercussions it has on the family. This movie does a good job of showing the issues from all sides. However, the movie does such a genuine and thorough exploration of the complexity of these issues that I, personally, found myself wondering if this movie would be able to have a happy ending at all. Well, the director did, in fact, try to create a happy ending, but it was entirely unsatisfying. Phoebe is brilliant and wise beyond her years, and a clinical disorder definitely doesn’t account for all of her quirks. Because there also was so much more to Phoebe’s character quirks, I wanted to see the character not learn how to fit in, but instead embrace her quirkiness and uniqueness – beyond having a disorder – to find her place where she could be her own unique, and sometimes difficult, self: her real-life wonderland.

So, the ending felt somewhat like a quick fix; like the director scrambled at the end to assure the audience that big hearts and good intentions can make everything ok, while the issues dealt with earlier in the movie were obviously much larger than that.

However, despite the inconsistencies within the plotline, the acting was great. Elle Fanning gave a heart-wrenching and genuine performance that will bring you to tears. She created this character perfectly, giving the watcher every reason to love her and want her to be able to work through her problems. Felicity Huffman also gives a stellar performance as Phoebe’s mother – a woman dealing with the struggle between wanting her daughter to be different and wanting her daughter to do well, in addition to her issue with, and opposition to, diagnosing and overmedicating young children.

So, regardless of the shortcomings of the plot, the movie is still moving and heart-warming at times - mainly due to the actor's performances.

Overall, it was a very interesting and original idea executed poorly.

digby
Movie-Critic.net

Recommended?

Yes

Overall rating:		7.2
Story:		6.0
Actor Performance:		9.0
Cinematography:		6.0
Sound Track:		8.0

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Reviewed by digby
March 15, 2009

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Last updated: March 15, 2009

Nobel Son

Movie Reviews

Darkly Comedic Rollercoaster Thriller

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Darkly Comedic Rollercoaster Thriller

Review

This is a thoroughly enjoyable movie! Nobel Son is the story of Barkley Michaelson (played by Bryan Greenberg) who gets kidnapped on the day before his father, Eli Michaelson (Alan Rickman), is to be awarded with the Nobel Prize. The kidnapper wants the two million dollars that Eli Michaelson is awarded for the Nobel Prize.

There were many noteworthy aspects of this movie. Firstly, one of the highest points was the writing. The dialog was intelligently witty and absolutely hilarious. Expect to be laughing throughout the whole movie. The dialog was accented flawlessly by the actors, so the casting was completely spot-on. Had there been a different cast, the movie would not have been as good. Alan Rickman played Eli Michaelson: a brilliant scientist with little to no social skills. He completely alienates everyone around him by being an utterly arrogant ass. While he has many great lines in the movie, one of the things that he says that accurately portrays his demeanor is “If anyone in this room ever doubted my intellectual superiority, you may now formally kiss my fine white ass.” He is so terrible to everyone around him, but the brilliant way that Alan Rickman plays him makes the character absolutely hilarious; the character that you hate but love to watch (think Simon Cowell). He will have you laughing throughout the whole movie. Another notable performance was done by Danny Di Vito. He plays Gastner, the ex-Obsessive Compulsive who rents out the Michaelson’s back house. He is neurotic and extremely funny. Eliza Dushku played a character unlike any other I’ve seen her portray: a spacey, poetic artist. She goes by the alias “City Hall,” and we are first introduced to her as she is reading her poetry at a coffee shop. She is also a character that will have you laughing until your sides burn.

The plot was good. There were many twists and turns, so it was spontaneous and unpredictable, which was fun. However, it was nothing revolutionary.
There was a little bit of pretty graphic gore at the very beginning of the movie that will make almost anybody squeamish, but not much more for the rest of the movie.

The intro to the movie was very interesting and original. The cinematic effects were very cool.

The soundtrack is my only real complaint about this movie. It was loud techno that would get in the way of the scene, rather than augment it. It stood out, and didn’t feel appropriate for the movie at all. While techno does have its place, this movie was not it.

After taking quite a few unexpected twists and turns, the movie ends on a satisfying note. So, besides the soundtrack, I thought this was an awesome, awesome movie. It will take you on a fun ride, and will have you laughing all along the way. This is definitely a good watch.

digby
Movie-Critic.net

Recommended?

Yes

Overall rating:		7.7
Story:		8.0
Actor Performance:		9.0
Cinematography:		8.0
Sound Track:		4.0

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Reviewed by digby
March 06, 2009

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Last updated: March 06, 2009

Half Nelson

Movie Reviews

Gritty yet sensitive, and extremely real

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Gritty yet sensitive, and extremely real

Review

This movie was done extremely well! Half Nelson revolves around Dan Dunne, played by Ryan Gosling, an inner-city middle school teacher with an intense crack-cocaine addiction. He is an enthusiastic and inspirational teacher who spends his class time giving heartfelt lectures about why history matters, and the importance of understanding it rather than simply memorizing it. He lectures about how the world is structured into opposing forces, illustrating it at one point by arm-wrestling one of his students. His students are very responsive to his unorthodox methods of teaching.

Outside of the classroom, he is subject to heavy psychological unrest as he is torn between his desire to change the world and his increasingly desperate realization that he can't – at least not in the awe-inspiring ways that he envisioned as a zealous and optimistic, yet naïve college student. This internal struggle is undoubtedly where his drug addiction is founded.

One day after a basketball game (he is the coach for the girls’ team), one of Dan’s players, Daya (played by newcomer Shareeka Epps), finds him using drugs in the locker room. She promises to keep his secret, and the two form an unlikely friendship. The bond that they form is very fulfilling and genuine. However, tensions arise as Drey tries to save Dan from the consequences of his drug habit, and Dan tries to prevent Drey from being sucked into the world of drug dealing.

Ryan Gosling is a fantastic and very versatile actor, and he does a great job portraying this crack-addict character. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Lead Role for this movie and received six other nominations as well as five wins for Best Actor in a Lead Role at other film festivals and film award ceremonies.

One aspect of that I think is great about this movie is the title, which gives the viewer the opportunity and even encourages the viewers to think about it after the film is over.

Another great aspect of this movie is the many clichés that were avoided. Many times before have we seen the inspirational teacher in an inner-city school, but this movie sets up the dynamic differently. Also, because the movie is set in the ghetto, we would expect to see violence, but there is minimal.

This story is gritty, yet sensitive, and very, very real. This director, Ryan Fleck, beautifully and seamlessly weaves together political commentary, commentary on the nature of the modern family/relationships, existential struggles, racial tensions and ironies, and the very struggles with which we are born by simply being human. Fleck has only directed one other movie since Half Nelson, but I am looking forward to seeing more movies from him.

digby
Movie-Critic.net

Recommended?

Yes

Overall rating:		8.3
Story:		8.0
Actor Performance:		9.0
Cinematography:		8.0
Sound Track:		8.0

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Reviewed by digby
March 04, 2009

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Last updated: March 04, 2009

Love is the Drug

Movie Reviews

A darkly compelling tale of pill-popping teens, that steers clear of moralism

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A darkly compelling tale of pill-popping teens, that steers clear of moralism

Review

Let me start by saying that this is an extremely appropriate title for the movie. I really enjoyed seeing the correlation between the title concept and the way that it played out in the movie as the story progressed.

This is the story Jonah (played by John Patrick Amedori): an awkward, friendless boy who is just finishing his senior year at an upscale prep school. He works for a pharmacy, and when the ‘popular’ kids find out, they immediately recruit him to hang out just for the sake of scoring pills for them. One of the girls in the group is Sarah (played by Lizzy Caplan), who Jonah is obviously interested in.

For the first part of this movie, it appears to be just another kid-falls-into-the-wrong-group-at-school-and-can-he-pull-himself-out-in-time? kind of movie. However, if you wait it out, it definitely gets better. There are some (relatively) unexpected truths that surface at the end of the movie that make it all worthwhile, and set it apart from the other movies that are similar to this one.

While there are many teen dramas made each year, this one sets itself apart in a couple of other ways, beyond the satisfying ending. Firstly, it is extremely realistic. The characters, the parties, the consumption are all things that teenagers of today are going through. This movie is done in a way that the audience is seeing this story played out from the teenagers’ points of view. The audience can fully experience the characters’ narrow-minded and naïve standpoints. This movie is done well enough that even if you are not a teenager, you understand what they’re going through.

Also, the casting and especially the acting was done very well. Each character was developed very well. All of the actors, especially John Patrick Amedori, created depth and dimension in their characters. You, as the watcher, will know each character’s story, and so will be able to connect with them on more than a superficial level, even if you don’t particularly like the character. It is because of this that the audience will become so involved in the story, and care about what happens to each main character.

Overall, this movie weaves a cautionary tale of teenagers with excessive freedom, and what they choose to do with it, but does not try to moralize or demoralize the actions of these teens, but, rather, allows the audience to come to their own conclusions about them. This is why, I believe, that it has appeal for both teens and parents.

digby
Movie-Critic.net

Recommended?

Yes

Overall rating:		7.5
Story:		7.0
Actor Performance:		8.0
Cinematography:		7.0
Sound Track:		8.0

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Reviewed by digby
March 01, 2009

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Last updated: March 01, 2009

Loverboy

Movie Reviews

A Beautifully Acted, Disturbing Tale of an Obsessive Mother

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A Beautifully Acted, Disturbing Tale of an Obsessive Mother

Review

WOW. I honestly don’t even know where to start with this story. This film revolves around a mother, played by Kyra Sedgwick, who is telling her life story to her son, Paul, as they go on a make-believe road trip. The story jumps between the current, as they are sitting in the car and she is talking to him, to her bizarre and neglected childhood, to the recent past (after Paul was born).

Kyra Sedgwick’s character, Emily, was completely ignored throughout her childhood because her parents were completely focused on each other, so, when she grew up, she decided that all she wanted in life was to have her own child that she could love indefinitely, and could love her back. She was not interested in any men, she just wanted a child. Not too off-center, right? Well, as the child started to grow older, her desperation to keep him as her very own stays strong. She latches on him and is incredibly possessive in a separation anxiety disorder type of way.

Emily gets crazier and crazier as the story goes on. The movie is bizarre, but what makes it so scary is that this really isn’t too far off base. It’s realistic, and to think that there are people in this world that are, in fact, just as crazy as Kyra Sedgwick’s character is a terrifying thought. In addition, Kyra Sedgwick played the character absolutely flawlessly. The depiction of this character, I believe, is what makes this movie so good.

One notable aspect of the movie was that Cinematography. The camera angles when looking at her past would become cockeyed and off center. The cinematographer would also use a wide angle lens to give the audience a looking-glass feel; like you were seeing it all from the eyes of the little girl (which makes sense, since you’re seeing her rendition of the events that transpired). The camera angles would also shift and become cockeyed when she was getting crazy. If she was starting to get upset, you could see it on her face, and the camera angles emphasized the crazed thoughts going through her mind. This was a magnificent touch to the movie, and added the perfect emphasis to the scenes.

Another noteworthy aspect of the movie was the Soundtrack. It was perfect for the story. Along with the crazy camera angles, there was certain music that would play at different points in the movie that represented when Emily was going crazy inside of her head, and/or getting close to doing something irrational.

Kevin Bacon both directed and acted in the movie. He had only directed on TV movie before this one, but his direction of this film was superb. Kevin Bacon’s performance, as Emily’s father, was great as well.
Overall, this was a great story executed beautifully.

digby
Movie-Critic.net

Recommended?

Yes

Overall rating:		9.0
Story:		9.0
Actor Performance:		9.0
Cinematography:		9.0
Sound Track:		9.0

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Reviewed by digby
February 28, 2009

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Last updated: February 28, 2009

Kisses

Movie Reviews

Charming without being overly-sweet

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Charming tale of two children's adventures and misadventures in inner-city Dublin

Review

This movie will tug on all of your emotions as it takes you through the story of two rebellious young teenagers who run away from home and spend the night in inner-city Dublin. The movie starts by introducing the audience to the two main characters, Dylan (a stoic and rough-around-the-edges boy) and Kylie (a fiery and strong-willed girl) – both played by newcomers – in each of their own broken homes. Dylan’s father is drinking and yelling at their toaster (implied alcohol as well as anger management problems), and Kylie’s family is coarse and cold toward one another. When a man comes to Kylie’s house, presumably a friend of her mom’s, she is noticeably uncomfortable, and goes out of her way to avoid him. After Dylan’s mother comes home, domestic violence breaks out, and when Dylan tries to intervene, his father turns on him. In a climactic moment of broken windows and busted pipes, Dylan escapes and him and Kylie run off, both determined to not return home. So begins their overnight adventure full of both exuberance and horror.

Through their escapade, the characters come to learn more about each other and themselves. The relationship and camaraderie between these two characters is sweet, sensitive, and caring. Both the characters and the relationship are developed beautifully throughout the story. The two young actors did a fabulous job with creating depth and life in these characters.

One very interesting and creative aspect of the story was the use of color. The movie started out black and white, and as they two characters began their adventure, a small amount of color starts to appear. When the characters are running around Dublin having fun, the movie is in full color. Then, again, at the end of the movie when the children are going back to their homes, the movie is back in black and white. Other than The Wizard of Oz, I have not seen this color tactic used in any other movie. It gave a very nice cinematic touch that emphasized the emotions and mood of the story and the characters and how they fluctuated within the movie. It also really illustrated how this was one crazy night of escape from the gritty home-life that they are used to; one magical, crazy, and terror-filled 24 hours.

The soundtrack was done well, and also tied in nicely with the story.

Another way that this movie sets itself apart from other movies like it is that the moral of the story does not have anything to do with domestic violence or childhood friendships, as a watcher would expect. The moral of the story is: “When you give a kiss, you either give or you take.”
You know you’ve got a good movie when it leaves you with something to think about.

digby
Movie-Critic.net

Recommended?

Yes

Overall rating:		7.8
Story:		8.0
Actor Performance:		8.0
Cinematography:		7.0
Sound Track:		8.0

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Reviewed by digby
February 27, 2009

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Last updated: March 04, 2009

Coraline

Movie Reviews

A Wonderfully Imaginative and Creative Visual Masterpiece!

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A Wonderfully Imaginative and Creative Visual Masterpiece!

Review

This updated claymation stop-motion movie is both imaginative and creative. It is a story of a young, lively, and restless girl, named Coraline, who, after moving into a new house with her parents, must find things to occupy herself to keep boredom at bay. She finds a small door in their living room, but it appears to be blocked off by bricks. However, while she is sleeping, she is woken up by the sound of mice. She follows them over to the small door in the living room that she had found earlier, although this time it is not blocked, and follows to an alternate reality of her own life. There she meets her “other mother” and “other father” that, at first, seem perfect and much more fun than her real parents. However, as the story unfolds, not everything is as it first appeared, and Coraline must go to extensive lengths to make sure that she doesn’t get trapped in this alternate reality forever.

Although this draws some similarities with stories like Narnia (character is able to travel to a different place through an unexpected place in their house) or Alice in Wonderland (girl finds other fantastic world that is not so fantastic after all), the story still feels original: not recycled at all. The animation was so spectacular and inventive that this new world is unlike one created in movies before.

Coraline, voiced by Dakota Fanning, is a very charming character that you can’t help but fall in love with. Dakota Fanning brings lots of life to Coraline. Teri Hatcher provides the voice for Mother/Other Mother, and she does a wonderful job voicing both parts, jumping from being the overworked, exasperated real mom, to the sugary sweet “other mother,” and then to the other, not-so-nice side of the “other mother.”

The movie featured an original score, created by French composer Bruno Coulais. He has mostly done scores for French films, so his sound is unlike most American made soundtracks. The music was always perfect for the scene and created the mood flawlessly. It matched exactly the bizarre and eerie world that Henry Selick created.

The Director of this movie, Henry Selick, also directed James and the Giant Peach and The Nightmare Before Christmas – two other great movies using the same type of claymation stop- motion. Coraline not only lives up to the expectations set by these two great animated movies, but, I believe, surpasses them. The film manages to be both charming and creepy. I can easily see this movie becoming a cult classic. It is not one that I will forget anytime soon.

digby
Movie-Critic.net

Recommended?

Yes

Overall rating:		8.6
Story:		8.0
Actor Performance:		8.0
Cinematography:		9.0
Sound Track:		10.0

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Reviewed by digby
February 27, 2009

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Last updated: March 04, 2009

The Last Word

Movie Reviews

Great Original Story!

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Great original story!

Review

This is a very interesting and original plot. The story revolves around an introverted young man, Evan (Bentley), who keeps mainly to himself and woks as a freelance poet for suicidal clients who would like for their last words to be more eloquent than they could produce on their own. Essentially, he is a professional suicide note author. While attending the funeral for one of his previous clients (to evaluate the effectiveness of his note) he meets the deceased’s sister, Charlotte (Ryder). As they begin seeing each other frequently, Evan must go to extensive lengths to keep hidden his occupation.

Both Wes Bentley and Winona Ryder portray their characters nicely, giving each character nice depth and dimension. While Bentley remains stoic, he reveals, subtly, that there is grief from a tragic past lying just below his icy surface. By the end of the movie, you will have an attachment to both characters.

Another notable character was Able, played by Ray Romano: a pessimistic musician with a death wish. Romano plays this character quite well, and through his interactions with Evan, adds much comedy to the movie.

Overall, this original storyline was written well and was enjoyable to follow. I’d highly recommend it.

digby
Movie-Critic.net

Recommended?

Yes

Overall rating:		7.6
Story:		8.0
Actor Performance:		8.0
Cinematography:		7.0
Sound Track:		7.0

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Reviewed by digby
February 23, 2009

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The Lost

Movie Reviews

An intelligent thriller with supurb acting

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

An intelligent thriller with supurb acting

Review

This movie was a pleasant surprise. The plot was intriguing, the acting was great, and the cinematography was fantastic. All the way through the movie, I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out for myself what was really going on!

This story is about an ex-psychiatrist (Assante) who has begun writing books about Multiple Personality Disorder. He is forced by the sister (Meyer) of a girl, Jane (Chabert), who he had diagnosed many years ago (as having Multiple Personality Disorder), to revisit Jane’s case. She knew that nothing had happened to her sister that could have caused the onset of DID, and was certain that her sister did not actually have the disorder.

Lacey Chabert’s performance was spot on. This role was so drastically different than her role in Mean Girls, and she did so well with each character that I almost didn’t even recognize her as the same actress as in this movie. This role is not an easy one to execute, but her performance was stellar. I look forward to seeing her in more movies.

One thing about the movie that actually really stood out for me was the way that movie was filmed, and the special effects. While this is an already eerie premise of the movie, the cinematography made the movie 10 times more intense.

While the ending was fairly satisfying, and gives the audience an “Ooh, that makes sense” feeling, it was a tad bit cliché. Also, I think that they could have chosen a better title. While this one makes sense, it doesn’t connect very well, or give the viewer an idea of what they’re watching. However, those are really my only complaints about the movie.

I was completely entertained by and enthralled with this movie, and if you’re a fan of thrillers, you’ll really enjoy this movie.

digby
Movie-Critic.net

Recommended?

Yes

Overall rating:		8.1
Story:		7.0
Actor Performance:		9.0
Cinematography:		9.0
Sound Track:		7.0

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Reviewed by digby
February 20, 2009

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Iowa

Movie Reviews

Just OK... Meh.

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Just OK... Meh.

Review

I must say, I was not a fan of this movie. I, admittedly, spend a fair amount of time searching for drug movies that I haven’t seen yet, so I was very excited to come across this one. The premise was a little different than the ones that I’ve seen in the past; for one thing, it’s set in the middle of nowhere. I’ve also never seen a synopsis that focused on how the characters are planning on starting meth creation up as an actual business.

So, there were a few things that bothered me about this movie. Mostly, I didn’t believe it. The main character is a gruff, stoic character that I wasn’t able to bond with, however ultimately he was faithful to his girlfriend, and understood his capabilities, knew his limitations. Although he wasn’t the brightest person, because he carried out well what he was able to do and, for that, he gained my respect. The female counterpart was overly innocent and too syrupy sweet. It didn’t make sense that these two characters, upon stumbling across some meth, would just decide to start using it. Ms. Goody Two Shoes would not just decide to abandon her father, who she spent a lot of time taking care of, and just run off for extended periods of time for meth binges. And then, even after she’s addicted, her demeanor doesn’t change very much. There was one incident in which her interaction with her father seemed like something that would genuinely happen, but other than that, her act didn’t convince me.

Another point that bugged me about this movie, maybe because I have never been an addict myself, is that I get the feeling that drug abuse will undoubtedly cause delusions and distortions of reality, but full-fledged hallucinations? I need more convincing…

I also didn’t really enjoy the subplot. The mother was a nutcase, yet there was no background. Why was she doing what she was doing? What was her relationship with the father? Why was she so distanced and alienated from her son? I think that the subplot had the ability to be a good addition to the story, but it should have been developed more thoroughly.

Also, although this shouldn’t really affect my opinion of the movie itself, I think that it should be noted that the front cover of this movie is a terrible representation and gives the wrong impression about the movie.

Overall, I thought that this was somewhat of a disappointment.

digby
Movie-Critic.net

Recommended?