It's hard to ruin songs by Gershwin or Berlin, not that these folks don't do their damnedest to try with extraordinarily bad pacing on some of the songs. The conceit is that, as in Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You, the characters sing to express their feelings. Which is fine when they're singing "Cheek to Cheek" or "The Way You Look Tonight," but they lost me when they did "There's No Business Like Show Business," which seems to serve no purpose except to allow Nathan Lane a little more screen time. The actors apparently all sing their own parts, which is a mistake in the case of Matthew Lillard, but Nivola and McElhone acquit themselves well. Likewise, Adrian Lester is clearly the only cast member with any real dance training, and he's a joy to watch. The movie starts off as a charming experiment and is certainly pleasant to watch, with marvelous songs and gorgeous, handsomely dressed actors, but with no real plot, it quickly runs out of steam.
Hammers Over the Anvil: Any movie that starts with Russell Crowe butt-naked amidst beautiful horses has nowhere to go but down. Unfortunately, the rest of this movie never again reaches the lofty level of the first 30 seconds. It's an innocuous, unremarkable little Australian movie about the coming of age of a crippled boy who idolizes a skilled horseman (Crowe) who's having an affair with a married woman (Charlotte Rampling). But did I mention it has Russell Crowe butt-naked?
A Map of the World: A devastating, heart-breaking drama with intense performances by Sigourney Weaver and Julianne Moore. This is definitely not something to watch when you're already feeling kind of down. You all know I'm fairly resistant to attempts to yank the heart-strings, particularly those attempts that involve children, but this movie really got me. A moment of inattention on Weaver's part causes an accident that touches off an escalating series of tragedies and destroys her life. Weaver and Moore are fantastic, avoiding the melodrama and manipulation that these roles could have inspired. The supporting cast is strong -- David Strathairn is always good, and the women Weaver encounters in prison are all indelibly created. Definitely recommended, with the caveat that it's not light entertainment.
Kikujiro: This is a sweet and very funny movie in the tradition of Kolya and Central Station, in which a crusty old person finds his/her heart thanks to a little boy trying to find his parents. Here it's Japan, and the crotchety guy, Kikujiro, is also a petty bully and small-time thief. His wife volunteers him to accompany Masao, a young boy living with his grandmother, who's using his vacation to go find the mother he has never met. Kikujiro promptly gambles away the traveling money, forcing him and the boy to hitchhike and con their way to Masao's mother. It's an entertaining, engaging movie that by and large sidesteps the mushy quicksand of sentiment that entrapped Kolya. Toward the end, the movie gets a little too much into slapstick humor and arty touches (and the music accompanying most of the movie is godawful, the sort of syrupy piano music that generally signals "a very special episode"). But those are my only complaints -- I liked this much more than I expected to.
The Heroic Trio: This movie kicks ass! Starring the three most popular actresses of Hong Kong cinema, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, and Anita Mui, it's a superhero movie with the acrobatic martial arts featured in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the arty touches of John Woo, with a mythic quality thrown in. Very entertaining and far superior to the Jackie Chan films these women have all worked in. It goes a bit over the top at times, but that just gives it the flavor of an old adventure serial. Always nice to see such strong female protagonists.
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