Inside Man

2006. Directed by Spike Lee. Written by Russell Gewertz. Starring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer, and Willem Dafoe.

We are dropped inside a robbery that just happened. It is clear that the police haven't caught the robbers and they are questioning everyone. Most of the movie exists in flashbacks as we watch the robbery take place. Inside Man is an exciting and engrossing film with solid performances from Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, and Jodie Foster; and yes, it is great to see Foster doing relevant work. Spike Lee's direction is solid, but his voice is more silenced than usual. It is, for the most part, a genre film done well. Spike usually gives us plenty to think and talk about when we leave, here he settles for our enjoyment while we watch.

My grade: B

The Sting

1973. Directed by George Roy Hill. Written by David S. Ward. Starring Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston, and Robert Earl Jones.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a film that has greatly grown on me; one I really treasure now that I simply liked before. I decided to see if my appreciation of Newman and Redford’s pairing in The Sting would also grow on repeated viewings. It didn’t. I liked it, to be sure. The details are terrific and the film never fails to be interesting, but I never fell in love. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a film I could watch over and over and just keep smiling. I have likely seen The Sting all I need to.

My grade: B

A Prairie Home Companion

2006. Directed by Robert Altman. Written by Garrison Keillor. Starring Garrison Keillor, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, John C. Reilly, Woody Harrelson, Kevin Kline, Virginia Madsen, Lindsay Lohan, and Tommy Lee Jones.

Garrison Keillor's radio program "A Prairie Home Companion" gets a fictionalized final show in Robert Altman's final film. Keillor, who wrote the script, is on hand as the host who nothing seems to trouble but who's also not willing to discuss on air that this is the final show or even the death of a performer during the live program. Meryl Streep shows an impressive singing voice as half of the singing-sister duo also featuring Lily Tomlin. John C. Reilly and Woody Harrelson are a blast as the singing cowboys. I am not familiar with the radio program itself and I never got into the Kevin Kline character (Guy Noir, a character from the program who is acting as security in the film). I enjoyed it enough to keep going but I never loved it. The most fun I had was the singing cowboys doing their bad jokes song. I played it again for my wife to hear, not figuring the kids would be paying any attention, only to hear Brady singing the chorus long after I had taken the film back out.

My grade: B

A Scanner Darkly

2006. Directed by Richard Linklater. Screenplay by Linklater, based on the novel by Philip K. Dick. Starring Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr, Woody Harrelson, Rory Cochrane, and Winona Ryder.

Richard Linklater decision to animate on top of life action was absolutely stunning in Waking Life, a use of cinema that was new and exciting to me. He returns with a similar approach to adapt Philip K. Dick's novel about an undercover police officer investigating an addictive drug who finds himself lost in addiction himself. The story is complicated and confusing and yet interesting. The animation, while it can't reclaim the stunning surprise and delight of Waking Life, is superb. I admired it more than I loved it, and there were times it even dragged a little for me. Woody Harrelson's crazed addict was a high point. The animation is really what makes it worth watching.

My grade: B+

The Navigator

1924. Directed by Buster Keaton and Donald Crips. Written by Clyde Bruckman, Jean C. Havez, and Joseph A. Mitchell. Starring Buster Keaton and Kathryn McGuire.

The Navigator isn't the indispensable classic that some of Keaton's other works are, but it is enjoyable enough on its own. Keaton, a wealthy young man rather inept at just about everything, and McGuire, who just turned down his proposal, find themselves stranded alone on a large ship out at see. There are laughs, the food preparation is perhaps the highlight, but it is not the astonishing work that we expect from Keaton. Next time I'm in a Keaton mood, I'll make a different selection.

My grade: B

Ratatouille

2007. Animated. Directed by Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava. Screenplay by Brad Bird. Voices by Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Peter O'Toole, Janeane Garofalo, Brad Garrett, and Brian Dennehy

The bee in The Bee Movie did nothing for me. I never cared about him. The rat in Ratatouille, however, is downright loveable. Remy is a terrific character. All he wants to do is cook, and he has the skills. He could be a master chef. The only thing standing in his way is that the last thing humans want to find in a kitchen is a rat. He finds an unlikely partner in a desperate human named Linguini. Linguini finds himself hired at the restaurant but has no talent in the kitchen. After much trial and error, Remy hides under Linguini's chef hat and pulls on his hair to operate Lignuini's body like a marionette. Together they make wonderful cuisine.

We actually went to Ratatouille in the theatre but Spencer was typically restless and the two of us soon found ourselves in the lobby. We got a refund and played with the video games in the lobby; or at least moved the steering wheels and controls as I never placed any money in the slots. Brady didn't want to stay in the theatre much longer without me, so Kelly and Brady came out relatively soon after. It was not a successful trip to the theatre. What I had seen was decent enough but not terribly exciting.

With the dvd release, we tried again. Perhaps because the film gets better as it goes along or perhaps because I wasn't struggling to silence a fussy child, I fell under its spell. The story is engaging and fun. The characters are great. In addition to Remy and Linguini, there's the mean head chef (terrifically voiced by Ian Holm), the scary food critic, Remy's brother who has no limits on what he puts into his mouth, and Colette who reluctantly takes Linguini under her guidance. I was smiling, laughing, and just simply happy to be watching a terrific little film.

Ratatouille is a very worthy addition to the glorious Pixar animation catalogue. They just don't seem capable of missing. Pixar at its weakest (A Bug's Life) is still very enjoyable. Pixar at its best (Toy Story, The Incredibles) is complete genius. Pixar's current run of animation films - from simply the very good to the spectacular - rivals, if not bests, even Walt Disney's classic era. I would gladly return to Ratatouille for repeat viewings even if my kids didn't request it.

My grade: A-

Ace in the Hole

1951. Directed by Billy Wilder. Written by Billy Wilder, Lesser Samuels, and Walter Newman. Starring Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Robert Arthur, Porter Hall, and Richard Benedict.

"It's a good story today. Tomorrow, they'll wrap a fish in it."

To call the ethics of Charles Tatum, the newspaper writer at the heart of Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole, questionable would be very generous. Tatum has been fired from the best papers. He was good enough but he always got into trouble. Now, he stumbles into a small town paper willing to work for pennies, hoping he can find a story that can help him reclaim his glory and get back to the bigs. He does stumble onto such a story, but he doesn't simply report it. He begins to guide the rescue of a miner trapped in a collapsed mine. He works to ensure the rescue is prolonged long enough to help him grab the attention of papers everywhere and drive up his asking price on the highest bidder. Tatum is bothered by what he is doing, but not enough to stop. The rescue becomes a frenzy, a circus, with on-lookers from all over the country. Reporters come from everywhere but Tatum has a deal worked out with the sheriff for exclusive access.

Billy Wilder was a terrific filmmaker of many genres. The accuracy of the criticism Ace in the Hole has for our unhealthy obsession with events like this has deepened even more with time. Kirk Douglas is good in the lead role though Jan Sterling is less impressive as the miner's wife. It didn't have quite the flow or bite of some of Wilder's other work but it is engrossing and ahead of its time.

My grade: B+

Thanksgiving Weekend

My cousin Christopher came in from D.C. for his second straight Thanksgiving with us and we seem to have started quite the unusually family tradition. Last year, my step-father, Christopher, and I ventured out to watch The Departed. This year, we journeyed to No Country for Old Men. I guess violent cinema, at least when in the hands of Martin Scorsese and Joel and Ethan Coen, is one thing we are thankful for.

In addition to the trip to the theatre, we fired up the dvd for two consecutive movie watching nights. My Aunt Linda, another great film lover, was also with us this Thanksgiving. My mother, who only watches movies in groups like this, and my sister were also there. The first night was Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious, a gloriously filmed thriller that starts slowly but sizzles from the moment Claude Rains enters the screen. The next night we took a stroll with Jack Nicholson through Chinatown, one of my all-time favorite movies. In between, the boys delighted to Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr. one afternoon; a landmark in silent movies and another of my favorite films. I don't get the chance to watch this many movies in such a short span anymore, so I enjoyed my opportunity - and each film was spectacular (though only the one was new to me).

No Country for Old Men

2007. Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy. Starring Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, Kelly MacDonald, and Woody Harrelson.

"You don't have to do this." "Everybody says that."

The Coen Brothers, that brilliant, quirky duo living in their own comic world, have returned to glory and yet disappeared at the same time. It is not that the Coen Brothers haven't been making some darn good movies since they possibly made the best film of 1996 and one of the best films of our times in Fargo. The lovable goofiness of O' Brother, Where Art Thou? and the style and intrigue of The Man Who Wasn't There come to mind. In fact, I have yet to see a Coen Brothers film that wasn't at least interesting and fun. But No Country for Old Men makes them major players in the hunt for the year's best picture in a way they haven't accomplished since Fargo. At the same time, the Coen Brothers are virtually invisible within their work for perhaps the first time. The story takes over and the Coen Brothers confidently and quietly guide it.

It is a brutal, tense, and exciting journey into the darkness of humanity. Money, way too much to not be missed, is found amongst a trail of dead bodies. Unable to help himself, Llewelyn Moss takes the money and will never be able to stop running because Anton Chigurh, one of the most memorable villains to ever grace the screen, will never stop hunting him. Javier Bardem ensures that his portrayal of Chigurh will never leave your mind, while Josh Brolin is terrific as Moss and Tommy Lee Jones quietly does some of his best work. No Country for Old Men is a thrilling movie with terrific acting, crisp dialogue, and some very unusual choices. Your attention will never wander. The Coen Brothers have crafted another masterpiece.

My grade: A