I’m going to admit a major movie blasphemy; at least for a die-hard 80’s movie fan such as myself. Before this viewing, I’d never seen Footloose, the 80’s dance classic featuring Kevin Bacon in his star making role. Sure I’d seen pieces of it on cable over the years, enough that I felt like I’d seen the whole thing, but after watching it through, I realized that I didn’t completely know the magic of this film. There were actually some surprising developments, not so much story wise, that was all pretty predictable, more in the character development. Most notably in Reverend Shaw Moore, played by John Lithegow. I figured he’d be a one-note preacher, with nothing but contempt for everything that the kids stand for. But he actually shows a lot of compassion, and leads the town to make some good sensible decisions, mainly he's a hurting father.

It was these dramatic elements that made me enjoy Footloose for more than just a blast to the past. There’s actually a good moral center, which explores the line between right and wrong. Of course, nobody is watching this film for the dramatic tension; they want to see Kevin dance! And boy, does he. There are quite a few scenes of Kevin dancing his worries away, most famously, the angry dance in the deserted barn; that’s been spoofed recently by Hot Rod and Flight of the Conchords. He and his dance-doubles have some great moves and for the most part the 80’s soundtrack is top notch, which makes the film a lot of fun to watch.

I’m sure you all know the story about the big city teenager moving to a small Indiana town, where the law states that dancing is illegal. It’s fun to see Kevin rally his new friends to fight against these laws, originally set down by the reverend because his son died in a drunk driving accident after a school dance. But he’s losing his daughter to these strict rules, she’s a wild one at heart, and delights in rebelling against his laws. The funniest scene in the film, is when she brings a boom-box to the local hang out, and somehow everyone in the joint is able to hear it and starts dancing along. It was great to see a very young Chris Penn play Kevin’s best friend, and in another great guilty pleasure of a scene, Kevin teaches him how to dance.

Footloose is undeniably fun. If you’re not a fan of 80’s movies, than this film definitely isn’t for you, as it’s brimming with everything that made the decade so memorable. I was surprised by how well the dramatic elements worked in the film, and I guess that’s why it remains such a staple, the dancing alone wouldn’t be enough. Go watch Breakin’, if you want an empty bubble-gum film full of out-dated dancing scenes. Kevin Bacon, John Lithgow, Chris Penn and Dianne Wiest, who played a mom in every other 80’s movie, lend the film some gravitas and sell the slightly ludicrous idea of a dance-free town. Footloose is a must see for any fan of the 80’s, but you probably already know that. – Grade: B+ (Seen on 6/17/08)

I saw this in the theater and really loved it. Read my original review. My opinion of it didn't really change when I watched it a second time on DVD with my wife. The singing grew on me a bit, because I was expecting the overwhelming amount. For fun, here's my favorite song from the film: A Little Priest

I'm about as a big fan of Donnie Darko you can find. I believe it's about as perfect as a movie can get. I would have bet anything that writer/director Richard Kelly was going to be the next great filmmaker. After watching Southland Tales, I'm not so sure anymore. I still think that he has great potential, but Tales is about as huge a sophomore slump you could name. He's really going to have to knock it out of the park with his third film to get my confidence back.

There was so much fanfare, so many compliments thrown his way after Donnie Darko, that I think it went to his head. He was so confidant that he could do no wrong, that he used every single idea he had in one movie, whether they were good or bad. There are a few good ideas in Tales, but they're completely obscured by the overwhelming number of bad ones. There are far too many plots and characters in this film, it seems that as soon as any one idea starts to develop we're quickly off to another one. We're never given a chance to care.

The film starts with an interesting premise. In 2006 America was hit by another terrorist attack, this time in the form of a nuclear weapon dropped in Texas. The Government seizes upon the opportunity to turn America into a military state, with constant surveillance of all citizens. Really, not that far fetched of an idea. I liked the idea of an alternate present, but Kelly tries to tell the story from every conceivable angle. If he'd kept this grand idea to a smaller scale, focusing on a few characters, the film might have been a lot better.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays Boxer Santaros an action movie star researching a role as a cop, for a movie he's hoping to produce with his porn-star girlfriend Krysta Now, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar. Seann William Scott is the cop he gets to ride along with, but he's not really a cop, he's an amnesiac taking the place of his twin brother who's being held for unknown reasons by a group of tattoo artists with plans to overthrow the Government. Justin Timberlake plays a Iraq War veteran, who now sits over Venice Beach with a sniper rifle protecting a new power source that sits off shore; he's also the narrator of the film, who somehow knows everything. There are more characters, the tattoo artist/terrorists, the inventor of the new power source, those who work for him, a Government employee who works for a watchdog group, her bosses, a Presidential hopeful and quite a few more. Too many to list, and definitely way too many to care about.

Every single one of them is a recognizable actor, many of them former Saturday Night Live players. I guess Kelly hired a lot of comedians, because he intended Southland Tales to be a comedy. At least he says so in the making-of, but I honestly don't remember laughing once. The only thing that I found funny was the ridiculousness of the scenarios. One moment there's a serious diatribe against the Government, the next a musical-dream sequence. The plot is so convoluted that it's nearly impossible to tell where it's going or what's just happened. There's no neatly tied up explanation at the ending either, if anything it makes it more confusing. What reason could Boxer's wife and mistress possibly have to dance together, I'm not sure, and I don't think Kelly has an explanation either, other than to throw us further down the rabbit's hole.

The film is well made, great photography, good special effects, the way-out-there costume and set design, make it feel like a whole other world, and great choices in music. The acting seems to be intentionally over-the-top, adding to the unnatural feeling of the entire film. It's nearly impossible to feel compassion for any single character in this film, when none of them convince you that they care about themselves. The whole movie feels like it was designed to keep the audience an outside observer, which is an odd feeling. Movies always try to draw you in, even if they don't always succeed.

I think that Kelly was going for a grand artistic expression, but he doesn't quite have the chops to yet pull it off. He should have waited to get a few more films under his belt before swinging for the fences. Southland Tales is a grand failure, that some may come to embrace as a cult-film, because of it's pure ambition and weirdness. I may give it another chance somewhere down the road, maybe gain a new perspective, but I don't think my opinion will change much. - Grade: D

Even after the critics drubbed this film to death, I wanted to see it. I loved Julie Taymor’s previous films; Titus, which is still my favorite Shakespeare adaptation; and Frida which is one of the better bio-pics of the last decade. Both had a wonderful mix of story and fantastical imagery. The trailer for Across the Universe made it look like a wonderful trip through the 60’s, with my favorite band The Beatles lending the soundtrack. What I didn’t realize, was how tiresome it would all become.

I was into Universe for a while; Jude the poor boy from Ireland looking for his dad in America and meeting Lucy, the privileged North Eastern girl made for a nice enough story to begin with. (Could you come up with a couple of more obvious names from Beatles songs than Jude and Lucy? )Most of the characters names in the film come from their songs, so they could easily be worked in to the musical theme; I kept waiting for Sgt. Pepper and Rocky Raccoon to show up.

The covers of the Beatles songs ranged from slightly-above-passable to downright awful, it got very old after the 10th or so song, which is only about 20 minutes into the film. The film might, and I stress might, have worked better if they used songs from various bands from the decade instead of continuing to rape the Beatles legendary works. The musical interludes were far too close together, the film felt like about 30 music videos loosely tied together. The story soon became secondary to them trying to work another musical number into the film, which brings the entire thing to a halt.

Jude, Lucy, her brother Max all move to New York together during the height of the Vietnam War, brother is soon sent off to the war, sister turns to protesting, and Jude just wants to hang out and create art. The most interesting number in the film comes in I Want You, when the military is changing Max into a soldier. Meanwhile we’re also introduced to a couple other characters, who all felt way too secondary and mostly unnecessary. I particularly could have done without Sadie and her boyfriend Jojo, who are kind of supposed to be like Janis Joplin and Jimmy Hendrix if they’d ever hooked up. The little affection I felt towards the main characters, was far more than what I cared about these two, they could have easily exorcised most of their storyline and shaved 20 minutes off this overlong mess. Bono shows up as Dr. Roberts for two songs, and is pretty much wasted.

Usually I appreciate filmmakers experimenting with the medium, I like when something new is tried, much more than the average Hollywood schlock. But I’d rather watch Martin Lawrence ham it up in drag, than sit through Across the Universe again. There are some very cool visuals within this film, they could make an absolutely brilliant short film out of the footage, but all together it grows far too old; way too many songs, with too little story and character to care about. They absolutely destroy a couple of Beatles songs, most notably Dear Prudence and For the Benefit of Mr. Kite. It might be worth watching in three-to-five minute intervals, one song at a time, by themselves the songs may be entertaining, but as a whole, stay far, far away.

I didn't know anything about Edith Piaf before watching this film; sure I'd heard a few of her classic songs, but I had no clue who the woman behind them was. It isn't the easiest film to sit through; it's French, nearly two-and-a-half-hours long, and an extremely depressing story. But I'm very glad to have seen it.

Even though it's long and sad, the film is consistently entertaining. Edith lived a very short, but extremely full life. While still very young, her father drops her off to live at a whorehouse, where she is taken in by a young prostitute who always wanted a child of her own. It's from her and her house-mates that Edith learns how to sing. Her father comes back a few years later and rips her from this home she's learned to love. He's a street performer and soon she's in on the act, using her young, but already wonderful voice to make money.

As a young lady she's still living off the money she makes singing on the streets. Before Gérard Depardieu's character notices her talents and has her sing in his club. From there she's given lessons on how to sing and perform properly, and in not much time she's a national sensation. She was one of the first Diva's. As soon as she has a little money and fame, she's horribly demanding of everyone around her.

What keeps the standard bio-pic storyline fresh; her rise-to-fame, drug use, fights and lovers; is the editing. The film is constantly jumping back and forth in her time-line, from her youth, till her untimely death; yet it is a cohesive and satisfying story.

But what really makes the film worthwhile is Marion Cotillard's powerhouse performance; rightfully nominated for an Oscar. She plays everything from her all-out craziness to her girlishly in love note perfect; she also does maybe the best lip-sync work ever. You really believe it's her belting out these songs; Edith's voice is so unique that they made the right choice in keeping it in the film.

La Vie En Rose is a beautiful and extremely well crafted film. Do yourself a favor and see it.