Hysteria (2011)

Unfortunately, this movie blows.  It's a cute concept, and the leads are great.  They really try, but there is no saving this script or the hackneyed direction. 

Hugh Dancy plays Mortimer, a young doctor in 1880 who would like to help the poor.  Instead, he ends up in an uptown practice helping women with "hysteria", which covers nervous issues, paleness, anxiety, etc.  The treatment involves clitoral stimulation.  Soon he's the most popular guy in town, until his hand cramps.  At which point, his friend Edmund, played by Rupert Everett, contributes his electronic feather duster to the situation. 

This movie starts out at a farce, which was ok but not great.  Then it tries to be a drama, bringing in women's sufferage, Maggie Gyllenhaal, the right to vote, and it really, really gets fucked up.  The tone is off, the pacing is a mess, this movie is a wreck. 

Just pass.  Watch Hugh Dancy in the Jane Austen Book Club for a good romantic comedy.  Maggie G is great in many things - try Crazy Heart, Sherrybaby, and Secretary.  Secretary is a romance that pushes the boundaries like no other movie.  I love it - try that one.

The Jacket (2005)

Why was this movie made?  There are many time jumping movies out there - and many bad ones.  Surely some of the stars who accepted this script had an inclination that this one was about to join the crap list?  And there are so many stars!

Adrien Brody - who apparently thinks delivering all lines in a whisper will make him appear gentle - not a murderer.
Keira Knightley - underwhelming (see her in A Dangerous Method; she's great).
Kris Kristofferson - this casting decision was interesting.
Jennifer Jason Leigh - she's way too good for this movie.
Mackenzie Phillips - if this was a comeback movie she was cruelly disappointed.

Adrien Brody gets put in an asylum for the criminally insane for a crime he may or may not have committed.  Kris K is the evil doctor who subjects him to a treatment involving being strapped in a straight jacket and locked in a morgue body locker.  Did you see the Halle Berry movie Gothika?  Did you like it?  Well you won't like this one either.

If you want to watch a good time hopping movie, pick up Happy Accidents or Sliding Doors.

Queen to Play (2009)

This is a better-than-decent romance / finding yourself story.  It is not perfect.  There are some trite plot points - particularly with the husband and daughter, but they don't ruin the movie.  Also, there are some dropped or unfinished story lines - but that's pretty damn normal.

On the plus side?  Kevin Kline playing an American expat in France (speaking French), lovely scenery, and a great lead - Sandrine Bonnaire  She plays Helene, a femme de menage (cleaning lady), who wants to learn to play chess.  In France, this is a cleaning woman playing outside her class - her station.  But Helene persists, and she's good.  She overcomes.

This is a solid rental if you like a classic romantic / drama. 

Twilight Samurai (2002)

This is the second movie I've watched by director Yoji Yamada, and I am going to get more of his stuff.  He was the director of Hidden Blade, one of my top ten movies.

I like Hidden Blade better then this movie, but Twilight Samurai is great.  It starts Hiroyuki Sanada as the impoverished and widowed samurai with two young daughters and a mother with dementia under his care.  His life is essentially hopeless - no woman would want to enter this household.

But the Midnight Samurai is a great fighter, and in Yamada's movies, honor and fighting ability count for a lot. If you like samurai, honor, romance - pick this one up!!

Margaret (2011)

This is a fantastic film - one of the best I've seen in a long time.  It should have been an award contender (I guess in 2011?), thought that was never meant to be. 

Kenneth Lonergan wrote and directed this film, then assembled a fantastic cast.  He got amazing performances from everyone, but especially from Anna Paquin and J. Smith-Cameron. There are a lot of big stars here:  Matt Damon, Matthew Brokerick, Jean Reno, Mark Ruffalo, but they don't monopolize their scenes or the film.  The film stands on it own - its dialog and cinematography and performances. 

The film follows Lisa Cohen (Anna P), an intelligent, upper West-side NY teenager as she deals with the repercussions of a tragic event that she didn't just witness, but in which she was very much involved.  Lisa tries to talk to the adults in her sphere, but they don't help.  I'm not even sure they see the problem, and some don't want to help in any case.  They have their own problems. 

The beauty of this film is that we get to see everyone's issues - in their actions and reactions, as emotion plays across faces, in body language.  The editing here allows us to see people's reactions to Lisa as well as their own problems.  I often leave a movie thinking it needed more editing, but not here - I wanted more film. 

And that's why this movie wasn't up for awards.  Margaret was filmed in 2005 but has been mired in litigation, apparently over the length of the movie and Lonergan's inability to cut the film to 2.5 hours.  It finally made it through the system in late 2011 and was released in LA (and NY I assume).  Without advertising, however, it was gone in a couple of weeks and is now on DVD.  It's sad - this is a great, great film.  Pick it up.  It runs 2.5 hours, but I would take more. 

I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007)

I love Amy Heckerling.  I have loved her since Fast Times at Ridgemont High (she directed) - and really really really loved her since Clueless (she wrote and directed).

This is not Amy H's best film, but it's still better than most of the crap you see every day.  Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd play an older woman / younger man romance trying to happen, but beset by the normal rom-com issues.  Namely:  age difference, insecurity and a crappy assistant trying to break them up.

I actually found very little in this movie believable (Michelle's ex husband is Jon Lovitz - in what world would that happen?), but everyone was so charming it was OK.  And I really really liked Saoirse Ronan as Michelle's young daughter.  OH - and there is a Mother Nature / imaginary friend thing between Michelle P and Tracey Ullman (as Mother Nature) - that was cool.  However, the movie didn't hang together that well, the tone was off, and it felt like it was made on the cheap. 

Not a bad rental, but watch Clueless again first. 

Election (1999)

This movie is priceless. This is Alexander Payne's first film, and my favorite (he also did About Schmidt, the Descendants and Sideways).  This film hilariously walks the line between flawed people and their oh-so-bad behavior, and absolute tragedy. 

Reese Witherspoon is genius here.  I once read a reviewer, I think Manola Darghis?, who said Reese's brittleness keeps her from being a good rom-com herione - and she is miscast in these roles.  I agree.  When Reese can do this kind of acerbic, witty, creative and joyous work, the gal should stay the hell away from rom-coms.  They are pointless and not her sweet spot.  Watch her in this - very few actresses can do this. 

Matthew Broderick is perfect - the opposite of Ferris, the tone is perfect, the camera work is simple, Reese midwest accent is priceless.  I love this film.  Pick it up. 

A Separation (2011)

I have been trying to watch this movie for at least 6 months.  I never was able to see it before the Oscars, and it won for Best Foreign Film.  Sometimes when I am really expecting greatness, I am cruelly disappointed. 

But not this time!!  This movie was amazing.  It starts simply enough, with a husband and wife in front of a judge.  The wife is asking for a divorce as she wants to go to America, and the husband has decided not to go.  His father has Alzheimer's and the husband feels he should stay in Iran to be with him.  Also at issue is their daughter - would she stay in Iran or go?

It doesn't matter, because the judge denies the divorce - her reasons for a divorce were "not good enough".  Ish.  That's scary. The mom moves out for a while.  The dad gets a housekeeper to clean and help look after his dad.  Things do not go well with the housekeeper.  There is an altercation, and she falls. 

Things get very interesting at this point.  The truth of what happened is not apparent.  It is complicated by motivations, prior lies, off screen activity and untold stories.  There is only one person who behaves well, in my opinion.  And some definitely behave worse then others.  Pay attention to what the father says to his daughter as things develop, and the pressure he puts on her as the situation evolves. 

And I loved the ending.  Pick this one up - it's a great film.