In Bruges

Have you ever been to Bruges? Me neither. Apparently it is an amazingly beautiful little city in Belgium, complete with canals and spectacular medieval architecture. Who knew? Anyhooter, Bruges is the fabulously picturesque setting of this black little comedy... and it has a part to play, so to speak. As anyone who has been stuck for any significant length of time in a tourist trap can attest, a gorgeous backdrop can be remarkably tedious and more than a little sad.

So what happens In Bruges, is that Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are stuck hiding out in a cozy little hotel room for two after a poorly dispatched assassination. Crime boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) is rather adamant that they stay in Bruges, see the sights and lay low. Ray is having a hard time of playing tourist and having an even harder time of dealing with his new profession. Ken is trying to enjoy the vacation. There are lots of very odd and funny bits about tourists (American and obese) and dwarfs. There are lots of odd and funny bits about honor and responsibility regarding killing people. There is a fair amount of blood.

In the end, I would say that this was a moderately clever, mostly entertaining bit of blackness with some fine actors having a bit of fun. Fiennes does a splendid job as the psychotic Harry, hamming up the accent and the f-word. Colin does his vulnerability shtick and Gleeson is solid as the ever-faithful regular-guy sort of killer for hire. You end up sort of liking them all in a vaguely disturbing kind of way. Charming and offensive all at once. And Bruges is really gorgeous. See another review here.

Rails & Ties

Contrary to popular belief, I can be as sentimental as the next gal. True, I am unforgiving of the sort of trite sentimentality that seems to be prerequisite of the 'chick flick,' and I am unrepentant in my avoidance of anything that might qualify. Rails and Ties snuck in under my radar; probably because I don't think of Kevin Bacon as the sort of actor who would choose to be in one. My bad. This is definitely a chick flick, and it is achingly sentimental - heck, my husband cried. What it isn't is trite - although the story is fantastical and no, Virginia, life rarely works out in quite this tidy a fashion.

Tom (Bacon) is a train engineer who is having a lot of trouble dealing with the fact that his wife, Megan (Marcia Gay Harden) is dying of cancer; he's having so much trouble dealing with it that she is near to leaving him... determined to make the most of the time she has left. Then Tom makes a judgement call in a train vs. car situation that results in the death of a young woman, and makes an orphan of her 13 year old son (convincing newcomer Miles Heizer.) When Davey eludes Child Protection and shows up at their doorstep to confront Tom, Megan is smitten and unable to turn him away.

This is the first feature film directed by Alison Eastwood, (yep, that would be Clint's daughter) and she seems to have the family gift for drawing out memorable performances. Harden is blessed with looks that seem to meld into Everywoman- she is remarkably real and beautiful while trying to look plain and simple. Her Megan is glorious in her pain and vulnerability. The ending may be fairy stuff, but the journey seems genuine in its exploration of grief and healing. See the website here, and don't give me any chick flick crap....

Burn After Reading

Can't tell you how many people told me in no uncertain terms that they hated this movie. Enough that I put off a viewing despite George Clooney and, did I mention and? Brad Pitt. I love George Clooney in a would bear him children sort of way. I love Brad Pitt (although I'm not sorry Angelina is doing the bearing.) But I put off the movie because a number of folks really, really, really didn't like it and then I realized that all these folks were younger than me. Yes, this has bearing. It takes a certain maturity to truly appreciate irony. To enjoy anything by the Coen Brothers requires a deep seated love of the ironic. Oh, and this is really a film about middle aged angst... something the younger folks just aren't going to get. Go figure.

The story in a nutshell - middle aged Linda (Francis McDormand) has decided that nothing short of radical plastic surgery will find her a man, so when her brain dead buddy (Brad Pitt is hilarious!) at the fitness center finds what is apparently a CD of spy type stuff she sets off to sell it to the Russians. Middle aged Osbourne (John Malkovich) has been let go from his post at the CIA as a low level analyst - it's really just his financial records that our dubious duo are trying to peddle; dropped by middle aged Harry (George Clooney) who's boffing Osbourne's viper of a wife (Tilda Swinton) and anything else that walks including Linda. Lost yet? It gets incredibly worse and people end up living impaired and the CIA tidies everything up in the end. Don't they always?

The ever jovial Coens actually wrote these parts for these very actors and take great glee in taking ridiculously handsome men like George and Brad and making them simply ridiculous dorks. Of course, they've played with Francis (Fargo) and George (O Brother, Where Art Thou) before - but they sure had fun with Brad. So, I laughed at the irony and I laughed at Brad Pitt playing a mindless muscle head and I even laughed at the outrageous and unexpected violence. I hate it when they get me to do that... but I do love it so. Check out the website here.

The Counterfeiters

What I enjoy about foreign films is usually based on how different they are from our domestic product. Films that are made not only in a language other than English, but also in a context other than the American worldview, are a completely refreshing window into the larger world. From that point of view, The Counterfeiters is a bit of a disappointment. Other than language, this Austrian film could have been made on a Hollywood sound set - with production values, writing, and acting that is definitely on a par with anything made in the US. And, sadly, this is the film that beat out Pan's Labyrinth for the best foreign language film of 2007.

The film is based loosely on on the memoirs of Adolf Burger and his participation in Operation Bernhard - the Nazi plan to destabilize the Allied war effort by flooding the UK and US economies with counterfeited cash. Life in the special barracks at Sachsenhausen is luxurious for a concentration camp, but the hand picked specialists are still prisoners - stripped of their families and their dignity. The story centers around Burger (August Diehl) with his deep seated desire to resist the Nazis in every possible way and Sorowitz (Karl Markovics) who pragmatically simply want to survive.

As a film about the horrors of the Holocaust, this is pretty mild stuff - our protagonists are subtly removed from the worst of it. It's an interesting story anyway - particularly regarding the CO Herzog, who believes in a very unNazi way that you can get more flies with honey than vinegar. As I mentioned, the production values are superb, and the acting is top notch. But I'm afraid to say that I didn't feel I got anything more out of the experience than a history lesson. Just Ok. See the website here, (artsy and none too easy to navigate.)

Murderball

Picture, if you will - young, testosterone laden, professional athletes. Piss and vinegar, ego driven muscle in laser-like pursuit of victory at any cost - ready and willing to lock horns with any buck that gets in the way - the steely gaze along the line, teeth clenched in effort, all mano e mano bravado - and may the best man win. All that's in play in Murderball; I mean we're dealing with rugby here, not some sport for girls. The fact that it's quadriplegic rugby and our rutting male athletes are in wheelchairs just makes it more interesting.

The film follows a number of players as they work toward the 2004 United States Rugby Team and the Paralympics in Athens, Greece, and along the way shines a light into life with disability. All these guys have suffered spinal cord injury or debilitating disease that has left them "incomplete quadriplegics" - they all have some use of upper body but are impaired in all four limbs. Quad rugby is full contact - players move a ball down court to score goals in specially made wheelchairs on steroids that would be Thunderdome appropriate. The opposing team tries to stop you. Any way they can. Padding and helmets are for sissies.

Dana Adam Shapiro and Henry-Alex Rubin have made a gem of a film, focused on a side of life few of us might have the chance to visit. They let the guys tell their stories; about coming to terms with life in a chair, about rivalry and loyalty, about sex (yes, they can!) and finding some dignity. Not every one of these guys is equally likable, but their fortitude and never say die attitude is refreshing in a world that tends to whine... Try watching this film before your next pity party. I double dog dare you. See the website here.

The Fall

And now for something completely different. Perhaps you remember a very odd but forgettable movie back in 2000 starring the equally forgettable Jennifer Lopez but having some very memorable if macabre imagery.... The Cell? Well, chillins, Tarsem Singh is back at it again with some bigtime backers (David Fincher and Spike Jonze) and locations in 18, count them 18! countries. The Fall is again, odd, but it is anything but forgettable. And neither is it's heroine.

Roy (Lee Pace) and 5 year old Alexandria (Catinca Untaru) find themselves with too much time on their hands while recuperating in a hospital in Los Angeles circa 1915. Both have suffered a grievous fall, she picking oranges and he, the result of a movie stunt gone wrong. But Roy has no wish to live, heartsick from losing his girl to the movie star - and to win Alexandria's help to obtain the drugs to take his own life, he spins her tales of fantasy that she visualizes around the people in the hospital. With a child's innocence, she eventually sees the outcome Roy is seeking.

From the exquisite black and white opening sequence, through every rainbow hued frame of the fantasy story the imagery will leave you breathless. Tarsem repeats images Escher-like, draws shadows from smoke, and captures a child's whimsy in vivid color and painstaking detail. The story weaves jerkily in and out of reality, but Tarsem isn't taking himself too seriously this time. Untaru is mesmerizing (she's 9, unbelievable!)- she'll capture your heart and break it- but it is the sheer beauty of film that will hold you. Website here.