This Means War

CAST:  Reese Witherspoon (Lauren Scott), Cris Pine (FDR Foster), Tom Hardy (Tuck Henson), Till Schweiger (Heinrich), Chelsea Handler (Trish), Abegail Spenser (Katie), Angela Basset (Collins); DIRECTOR: McG; SCREENWRITER: Timothy Dowling, Simon Kinberg; PRODUCED BY: Simon Kinberg, James Lassiter, Robert Simonds, Will Smith; EDITOR:  MUSICAL DIRECTOR; GENRE:  Action & Adventure, Romance, Comedy; CINEMATOGRAPHY: Russell Carpenter; LOCATION: Vancouver, Canada; RUNNING TIME:  120 minutes 

Technical Assessment: 3

Moral Assessment: 1.5

Cinema Rating: For viewers 18 years old and above         

Elite CIA spies FDR (Chris Pine) and Tuck (Tom Hardy) mess up an attempt to capture international terrorist Heinrich (Til Schweiger) and are assigned desk jobs.  Missing some action at Spy Central, Tuck decides to return to the dating scene.  By signing up with an on-line agency, he gets a date with Lauren (Reese Witherspoon), a busy-busy career woman in her thirties.  After their first great date Lauren accidentally bumps into FDR (Chris Pine) and soon FDR dates Lauren, too.  One improbable day at the office Tuck and FDR who are the best of friends discover they're after the same woman.  Disappointed at first, the two guys make a pact to keep Lauren unaware of their discovery and their being best friends.  May the best man win, they say as they slam their laptop shut. 

Considering the technical aspect of This means war, it’s as good as any movie goes that’s aimed to entertain and not to challenge viewers intellectually.  It is billed as a romantic-comedy/action movie but comes out half-baked at each count.   The romance aspect is snuffed out by the rivalry between the two guys—why break a friendship over a woman who is so self-absorbed she’s totally clueless about their     The comedy side relies on hurting people which isn’t funny, and the action doesn’t excite as elite spies are supposed to do.  If the story were based on real life we can’t help but say “What a silly love triangle!”  Fortunately it’s but fiction and so we can dismiss the shallowness of the plot and the characters.

This means war redeems itself by trying to uphold fidelity (albeit to a pre-marital sex partner), being a good sport or loser, and familial reconciliation.  It’s a good movie to see if only to tell your teenage children what to avoid in man-woman relationships.  

The Breaking Wind

CAST:  Heather Ann Davis (Bella), Eric Callero (Edward), Frank Pacheco (Jacob), Michael Adam Hamilton, Alice Rietveld, John Stevenson and Danny Trejo.

DIRECTOR:  Craig Moss; SCREENWRITER: Craig Moss; PRODUCER:  Bernie Gewissler, AmyJarvela, Craig Moss; EDITOR:  MUSICAL DIRECTOR; GENRE:   Comedy; CINEMATOGRAPHER     DISTRIBUTOR: Pioneer Films; LOCATION: Los Angeles, California, USA; RUNNING TIME: 82 minutes       

Technical Assessment: 3

Moral Assessment: 2

Cinema Rating: For viewers 18 years old and above         

SYNOPSIS: Breaking Wind is the comedic spoof of the world wide phenomenon Twilight series. When Stella's life becomes threatened by the vengeful Victoria and her gang of blood sucking newborns. Edward and Jacob must put aside their differences in order to save her life AGAIN.

The Vow

CAST:  Rachel McAdams (Paige Collins), Channing Tatum (Leo Collins), Sam Neill (Paige’s Father ), Jessica Lange (Paige’s Mother), Jessica McNamee (Gwen); DIRECTOR: Michael Sucsy; SCREENWRITER: Jason Katims, Abby Kohn,  Marc Silverstein, Michael Suscy & Stuart Sender; PRODUCER: Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Jonathan Glickman, Paul Taublieb ; EDITOR:  MUSICAL DIRECTOR; GENRE:  Drama. Romance; CINEMATOGRAPHER     DISTRIBUTOR Sony Pictures; LOCATION: Toronto, Canada & Chicago, USA; RUNNING TIME:  104 minutes

Technical Assessment: 3.5

Moral Assessment: 3.5

Cinema Rating: For viewers 14 years old and above 

     

SYNOPSIS : A newlywed couple recovers from a car accident that puts the wife in a coma. Waking up with severe memory loss, her husband endeavors to win her heart again.

The Descendants

CAST: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Robert Forster; DIRECTOR: Alexander Payne; SCREENPLAY: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash; PRODUCED BY: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor; CINEMATOGRAPHY: Phedon Papamichae; EDITING: Kevin Tent; LOCATION: United States; RUNNING  TIME: 115 minutes

Technical Assessment: 3.5

Moral Assessment: 3

Cinema Rating: For viewers 14 years old and above 

The Descendants is set in Hawaii and follows the unpredictable journey of an American family at a crossroads.  Matt King (George Clooney), a husband and father of two girls, must re-examine his past and navigate his future when his wife goes into coma due to a boating accident off Waikiki.  He awkwardly attempts to repair his relationship with his daughters— perky 10-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller) and rebellious 17-year-old Alexandra (Shailene Woodley)—while wrestling with a decision to sell his family’s land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.  Matt and his King cousins own some of the last priceless virgin parcels of tropical beach in the islands.

When Alexandra drops the bombshell that her mother was cheating on her husband at the time of the accident, Matt has to take a whole new look at his life, not to mention his legacy, during a week of momentous decisions.  With his girls in tow, he embarks on a haphazard search for his wife’s lover.  Along the way, in encounters alternately funny, troublesome and transcendent, he realizes he’s finally on course toward rebuilding his life and family.

  Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings, The Descendants has a snappy screen play by its own director Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash.  Others in the acting ensemble are Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel and Patricia Hastie.  Clooney’s award-winning Matt King is a flawed individual finding his way through a world of lunacy, bittersweet emotion and surprises; he is neither a hero nor anti-hero, not the man he would like to be.  Rather, Matt King is a man grappling with some of the worst news, most difficult people, and most impossible decisions of his life.

  Close family ties are among the values highlighted in this movie.  The bond between the father and his daughters is also emphasized to show that while tragedy, a death in the family,  and the discovery of a betrayal may lead to pain and bitterness, the same suffering may also strengthen the character of those left behind.  In the last scene the characters do no talk but it is pregnant with symbols and body language no words can equal.  A most satisfying film for families to watch.    

The Woman in Black

CAST:  Daniel Radcliffe (Arthur Kipps), Claran Hinds (Samuel Daily), Janet McTeer (Mrs. Daily), Sophie Stucky (Stella Kipps), Liz White (Jennet Humfrye), Misha Handley (Joseph Kipps); DIRECTOR: James Watkins; SCREENWRITER: Susan R. Hill,  Jane Goldman; PRODUCER:  Hammer Film Production; EDITOR:  MUSICAL DIRECTOR; Marco Beltrami GENRE:  Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense; CINEMATOGRAPHER     DISTRIBUTOR; LOCATION:  United Kingdom; RUNNING TIME: 94 minutes

Technical Assessment: 3.5

Moral Assessment: 3

Cinema Rating: For viewers 14 years old and above  

SYNOPSIS: Arthur Kipps, a widowed lawyer whose grief has put his career in jeopardy, is sent to a remote village to sort out the affairs of a recently deceased eccentric. But upon his arrival, it soon becomes clear that everyone in the town is keeping a deadly secret. Although the townspeople try to keep Kipps from learning their tragic history, he soon discovers that the house belonging to his client is haunted by the ghost of a woman who is determined to find someone and something she lost...and no one, not even the children, are safe from her vengeance.