The Good German

U.S. Army correspondent Jake Geismar (George Clooney) gets caught in a web of intrigue involving ex-flame Lena (Cate Blanchett) in Steven Soderbergh's drama set in post-World War II Berlin. Lena's missing husband is hunted by U.S. and Russian military, and in desperation, she looks to Jake for a way out. Tension mounts as Jake discovers Lena's been keeping secrets and the black market dealings of his shady driver (Tobey Maguire) come into play.

Jackie and I both read the book and liked it. It's a good mystery, with the backdrop of Berlin a couple of months after VE day being ripe for intrigue, greed and murder. It's a tough story to tell in a movie, so they didn't.

The movie script decided to change the back story and character of Lena, her husband, Jake and the driver. At least the Allies still won WWII. To add a certain 40's era feel to the film, it's in black and white (looks great) and all the actors have the emotional attachment to each other and the story of paper dolls moving across the screen. Think high school stage play, not Casablanca. They lumped two different women from the book into one person in the film (Lena) and turned the husband from a believable rocket scientist who participated in starving Jews to a "Good German" who wanted to do the right thing by testifying against the other rocket scientists to cleanse the German soul. I hated this movie.

If you haven't read the book and still wonder if the movie stands on its own as a different film because it has a great cast, great look, and a famous director, don't bother. It still doesn't work. I had intended to only report on films I really liked, since I see lots of others that the rest of you might not care about one way or the other, but this one took me by surprise so much I wanted to post the warning. Did I mention, "don't see this movie?"

Blue Planet

This series has David Attenborough narrating multiple DVD's of vignettes on the ocean and its plant and animal life. The footage is like no other, astounding, time-consuming and costly to get, and they show it in sections - open ocean is one, coral seas is another, etc. Very informative and educational, and compelling. One downside is that if Phil and I try to watch it on a Friday night after a long work week, we usually doze off, because lots of the music is dreamy-like. However, we can watch it all the way through on Saturday and are amazed at the footage. We use Netflix, as I think at least some of you do, so we would have one of the Blue Planet series at home and watch over a few days of viewings, and would have another non-educational type movie here for our "veg out" nights. We are so taken with this series that our Netflix queue has similar DVD's every 3rd one or so (currently we are working on "In Cold Blood", the reptile series - I'll let you know when we're done).

Milk

As I said earlier, Phil and I got this movie about a week ago. It is the story (true) of Harvey Milk, a San Francisco gay man who grew tired of the poor treatment of homosexuals and minorities and ran for and eventually got elected to the S.F. city government. He was very charismatic and was able to align unlikely groups (like a labor or Teamsters union) to back him because he was able to channel the votes and money of the local homosexuals to support union gripes (Coors boycot, an example). However, this was in 1978, when Anita Bryant was gaining strength in her crusade against anyone unlike her (particularly homosexuals) and while Harvey Milk was able to make amazing gains in his brief time in office, he had enemies, in particular another city council person who eventually assassinated Milk and the SF mayor in 1978. This triggered a huge candlelight march on city hall, where the murders occurred (appeared to be pre-meditated) and subsequently instead of extinguishing the flame of excitement and cohesion that Harvey Milk was able to bring about, his death brought greater drive to his ideals. A true story. Sean Penn won a well-deserved Oscar for his portrayal of Milk. Be prepared for some tasteful love scenes (ala Cold Mountain), no real violence (the shooting scene is horrifying for what is represents but is not excessive), and I don't recall much if any profanity. Two thumbs up.

Vicky Christina Barcelona

So I just rented this On Demand last night and it was a film I'd wanted to see when it came out in the theaters. I wouldn't call myself a fan of Woody Allen's - I think he has an interesting (yet predictable) aesthetic, and sometimes it hits, and sometimes it misses. This one.....landed somewhere in the middle.
It centers around two friends, Vicky and Christina, twenty-somethings on a summer vacation in Barcelona. Personally, I loved the shots of various parts of the city and, if anything, it just made me want to go back and explore Barcelona more. So the backdrop for the film is certainly incredible. However, I found the characters of both Vicky and Christina a bit one-dimensional. I could almost predict what each one was going to do at any given moment. But that's not to say I didn't enjoy the film.....it's just that I was hoping for a bit more.
Vicky is a somewhat uptight, by-the-book, soon-to-be-married intellectual just interested in the architecture of the city and, apparently, being a tight ass killjoy. Christina is, seemingly, the antithesis of Vicky and I never quite figured out why on earth these two ever became friends, let alone traveled together. But whatever, friendship comes in all forms. Anyway, Christina (Scarlett Johansson) is a free-spirit, flightly, daring, lost soul looking for a little excitement and the exact opposite of monogamy and marriage.
Enter: Smokin' hot Javier Bardem. For those of you who saw "No Country for Old Men," this will be quite a change as far as Javier playing a sexy Latin artist rather than a homicidal killer. He quite wonderfully plays Juan Antonio, a passionate, shockingly honest, complicated painter with a crazy (super crazy) ex-wife (Penelope Cruz) who adds quite a pleasant flare to the movie. I can see why she was nominated for an Oscar (and won!).
Anyway, in case you see it I don't want to give away the plot....but I can say that when the movie was over I thought "Well...huh." It was well done, fairly well acted, entertaining, and not too long (under 1.5 hours). But I was left wondering what I was supposed to feel. But maybe I was just expecting something that it wasn't.
I started to think of who would like this film and I think maybe Amanda, but that's probably it. Again, I enjoyed it, but it's not the rousing film I had heard and expected it was.
So...there ya' go!

Gone Baby Gone

I love the idea of a movie blog, too! Thanks for putting this together!
Ok, so for my first official movie review, I'll do "Gone Baby Gone" since I just rented it On Demand. I'm pretty sure no one would be surprised by my choice to see a movie directed by my honey, Ben Affleck. But my completely unbiased opinion is that this is definitely worth your time. I really think most (if not all) of you would like this film. It's got a great cast of those you know, and some you don't. All give some great performances and the film really moves right along.
It centers around a couple (Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan) who are private investigators. They end up being contacted by famiy members of a little girl who has been abducted and we watch the lives of both the investigators, the police involved, and the family of the little girl unravel. And it definitely took a few twists and turns I didn't expect, keeping me on the couch through the whole thing! (which is quite an accomplishment for me to sit still for a full 2 hours).
Definitely recommend this one for a Saturday movie night (though, obviously, not kid-appropriate). I give it two thumbs up!

The Lives Of Others

Set in 1980s East Berlin, director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's debut feature (which earned an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film) provides an exquisitely nuanced portrait of life under the watchful eye of the state police as a high-profile couple is bugged. When a successful playwright and his actress companion become subjects of the Stasi's secret surveillance program, their friends, family and even those doing the watching find their lives changed too.

This has subtitles. I like them and even switch on the subtitle option for films who's actors have strong British accents but know that it's an instant turn off for some people. This film has no objectionable language (unless you hate German), no killing (although some people die), a little sex. It starts off subdued as the Stasi agent follows every nuance of the target's life but takes some very interesting turns as the interplay between the agent, the target and the Stasi hierarchy progresses. A very moving story without being overblown. Amanda and Becky both should like it. Jackie's not a big subtitle fan so would pass. Debbie, I don't know your preferences yet but that will change as you make your posts.

Undocumented immigrants Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Senay (Audrey Tautou) work at a posh London hotel and live in constant fear of deportation. One night, Okwe stumbles across evidence of a bizarre murder, setting off a series of events that could lead to disaster -- or freedom. This gritty, complex thriller from director Stephen Frears received an Oscar nod for its screenplay. Sophie Okonedo and Sergi López co-star

Here's my first post and I'll try to follow this format hereafter. Use the Netflix picture and description and go from there.

This is a BBC film, and unlike a lot of those films, the language has almost no objectionable words (f...). That's not a big issue for me but sometimes it becomes the dominate word in the script of other films and overwhelms what would otherwise be an interesting story. This film deserved the nomination for best script. The film moved right along, the dialogue was always just right, and there was real tension and surprise from the story telling rather than relying on killings and car chases. The humor was understated but there enough to be noticeable and the interplay between the maid and the cab driver/desk clerk was very well done. The lead, Chiwetel Ejiofor, will be familiar if you've seen "Serenity" or "Children of Men." He has a great film presence. As a bonus, Sergi Lopez will be very familiar to Amanda as the Fascist captain in "Pan's Labyrinth." He's as much a bad guy in this film as that one.

Since movie preferences are at least as strong as book preferences, it's tough to tell who would like this, although I know Becky would and even Jackie.

Saint Ralph

I saw this movie a few years ago, but it is so memorable that I would watch it again anytime. It is a coming of age story of a young teen-aged boy/man whose mother is dying (or not?) of cancer. He is in a Catholic boys school, trying to fit in and reconcile his heartbreak and hope with his mother but also his hormonal surges. There is a particularly funny scene of him and a buddy at the public pool trying to peek into the girls locker room. I laughed til I cried. He ends up running and taking a go at the Boston marathon. It is a funny, touching movie, many laugh-out-loud parts coupled with tearful and touching ones. I would love to think it is true but I don't think it is. A funny, heartwarming story - a near must for the runners in the family.

The New Movie Blog

You asked for it......and here it is! The Amos Family Movie Review blog. I am lame and have recently watched Barbie Nutcracker and Max and Ruby's Halloween Adventures. Exciting, I know. But I'm sure the rest of you have some great recommendations. Please share!