Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)

I liked Mr. and Mrs. Smith so well that I use it as my 4-star litmus-test movie for romantic comedies: If I like a movie less than this Smith vs. Smith shoot-em-up sendup of spy movies, it gets less than 4 stars. The Smiths, for me, simply drew a line in the sand and said to other movies, "Go ahead. We dare you. Cross that line" (and you just know that crossing the line would really make their day). Our story? Brad Pitt is an accomplished cloak-and-dagger kind of spy (though for whom is unclear). Angelina Jolie is also an accomplished claymore-and-sniper kind of spy (though for whom is unclear). Brad and Angie are joined in an insipid marriage ("I added peas to the casserole." "Oh, really?") because each one's cover precludes revealing he or she is a spy even or esp. to one's spouse. Next, the piece de resistance: His organization assigns him an assassination, and her organization assigns her an assassination. Only after the fireworks begin does each spy recognize who is in their target sights. No matter: A hit is a hit. After all, it's just business. High-caliber mayhem and car-chase scenes ensue, accompanied by some memorable one-liners ("Baby? Are you still alive?"). You have to watch it to find out what happens. I like to watch it whenever I feel like some good mindless mayhem. I'm not sure if their way of settling differences is cheaper than marriage counseling but it's probably a lot more effective (as far as it goes). Enjoy! 4 stars. (5-17 posted 6-5-10)

Robert Earl Keen: No. 2 Live (2001)

Robert Earl Keen's 39-minute concert is taken from his first appearance in March 2000 at the Houston Rodeo, where headline concerts are short because they come after the evening's rodeo lineup and a warmup act. The Houston Rodeo is a fun, family-friendly venue with ticket prices that are a superb value. That's why you see oodles of kids of all ages having a great time with REK and even a few dads and moms boot-scooting in the aisle. (You see some empty seats because Houston Rodeo shows are not dedicated, full-length concerts that start before 9 pm -- all 15 concerts follow a full day of Texas-sized activities -- plus they're affordable enough to skip if your tribe is pooped out and wants to get a head start on the one-hour shuttle bus line and ride to your car so you can get home by midnight on a school night.) REK is a favorite among repeat performers at the Houston Rodeo and this, his first performance here, is not only fun but memorable and nostalgic. 3.5 stars.

The Young Victoria (2009)

The Young Victoria is a commendable and earnest treatment of the subject, that is, a costume/period political/romantic drama about the crowning and early reign of Britain's Queen Victoria (the longest-ruling English monarch during the 67 years from 1837 to 1901). Emily Blunt is no Helen Mirren or Cate Blanchett (who have played Queen Elizabeth I and II to resounding Oscar kudos) but Emily deserved her Oscar nomination to be sure. I just felt certain there was a lot more going on in the minds of Helen and Cate behind their stoic regal stares -- queenly thoughts if icy ones at that -- whereas Emily, playing a woman crowned at 17 who for political reasons had not been groomed for royalty, resembles a young ingenue or model "striking a pose" to get that inscrutably blank expression. (Still hot, though.) Be that as it may, The Young Victoria is an object lesson in political manipulation as we see how roundly her mother, uncles, and other courtesans seek to control her or exclude her from rule through patronizing restrictions and machinations right up to the day of her crowning. We see the beginnings of her resolve as the future sovereign as she refuses to sign an order of regency. We see her determination to learn how best to serve her people and their welfare and esp. how an authentic and joyous love develops between Belgium's Prince Albert and Queen Victoria. These threads form the crux of the movie, showing us humility and true love and a generous spirit of service while ushering in the modern age of the British monarchy. Don't miss this movie! 4.5 stars. (5-18 posted 6-5-10)

Look Around You: Series 1 (2002)

Look Around you is a droll, dry-as-toast British mockumentary series that lauds the science classroom filmstrips of the 1950s through the 1970s while spoofing them. Produced in the style of the mid-1970s (men's hairstyles, retro computers, and so on), the first series of nine 10-minute episodes aired on BBC2 in 2002, on BBC America in 2005, and on Comedy Network's Adult Swim in 2009. It was nominated for a BAFTA award in 2003 and has developed a cult following. The first series has not yet been released on DVD but I have seen all the episodes on Adult Swim and YouTube. Every episode begins with an education-cable-TV-style placard that counts down to a synthesizer-themed introduction in which a person's hands type a BASIC program on a TRS/80-style computer until the the screen is filled with the words LOOK AROUND YOU. Next, every episode opens with a chain of scenes where children (usually doing something unexpected) scramble about as the narrator (Nigel Lambert) didactically intones: "Look around you ... Look around you ... Just look around you! ... Have you seen what we're looking for?" Only in the last split second is a vaguely tenuous clue to the episode's theme given, such as when a match is struck and the narrator then intones "Exactly! Sulphur!" What follows is a pseudoscientific exposition of the episode's subject -- in essence, a few facts mixed with fiction, nonsequiturs, and absurdity -- and then summaries of two nonsensical experiments. You have to see each episode to appreciate its subtle humor and attention to detail (whether factual or just silly, like a jar labeled "NUTS" that holds both edible and metallic nuts). The first series' episodes (topics or "modules" in the show's parlance) are Calcium, Maths, Water, Germs, Ghosts, Sulphur, Music, Iron, and Brain. In keeping with the series' nonsensical nature, reference is made at the end of each episode to "the next module" (which is never seen): Champagne, Cosmetics, Dynamite, Flowers, Hitchhiking, Italians, Reggae, and Romance. Where else, I ask you, can a reasonable-sounding narrator explain that germs come from Germany and whiskey is created by combining nitrogen and water? I most enjoyed when the end products of a sulphur experiment were "suitably disposed of" in the dustbin (using a revolver). Catch this series as soon as you can if you want to be cool (for a science geek)! 5 stars.

Superman Returns (2006)

I first watched Superman Returns as a rental 3 years and 2 weeks ago but couldn't muster the guts of an opinion or the gumption to write a review. It was a pretty fair movie -- but also fairly forgettable. Now that I've seen it again on cable, I find I can still appreciate the nicely done scenes -- while still looking for the movie's soul. (So where was Superman all those years anyway?) A big deal was made on the movie's release about how Brandon Routh looked "just like" Christopher Reeve and so a sequel faithful to the earlier movies could be made. Reeve was much more than a pretty boy though -- he had more heart and soul than any number of men put together. He even had a sense of comic timing -- and when he smiled, Reeve *was* Superman. What can Routh summon from within? (Indeed, what has he done since he was granted this role?) His Superman smile is a mix of puzzlement and a moue of a scowl. He seems like a superhero without a rudder -- the antihero's antihero. The shell of a good Superman picture but overall a super yawn. 4 stars.

The Hurt Locker (2008)

Kathryn Bigelow certainly deserved her Oscars for The Hurt Locker, a taut and nuanced tale of the adrenaline addiction of war as seen and felt through the eyes and ears of a U.S. Army bomb-defusing squad in Bagdad and esp. its leader (Jeremy Renner), who has defused 873 bombs (and counting). A bit of a cowboy, he savors the thrill and the challenge of his work, even stripping off his armored suit to defuse one particularly devious car bomb ("If I die, I want to die comfortable") and keeping a souvenir box under his bunk of "things that almost killed me." The soundtrack is exotic, lush, and reminiscent of Lawrence of Arabia -- but this is not your father's Lawrence of Arabia. Bagdad is a pummeled and pockmarked urban wasteland filled with oases of citizens and families trying to go about their daily lives -- yet also peppered with insurgents in citizen's clothing who lurk or loiter, ready to detonate a roadside bomb on a moment's notice (or to film the aftermath and post American soldiers' deaths to YouTube). The U.S. patrols' nascent, jacked-up paranoia often leads to tense, no-nonsense standoffs ("Well, if he wasn't an insurgent, he is now") and the billowing blooms of concussive detonations, poetically described by Guy Pearce, who with Anthony Mackie, David Morse, and Ralph Fiennes, fill out the antidemolitions team. The Hurt Locker is Full Metal Jacket meets Blackhawk Down as soldiers struggle to cope with the loss of their brothers in war and Renner's character tries to backtrack the 411 on a young Iraqi boy. You can almost feel the heat and taste the grit in your teeth. If you can stand the military's four-letter language and the tension of insurgent warfare, be sure to see this Oscar winner for Best Picture. 5 stars.

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Män Som Hatar Kvinnor; Millennium: Part 1: Men Who Hate Women) (2009)

Lizbeth Salander, the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, may have a tortured or damaged soul but she believes in one thing: payback. Indeed, she knows her way around a Taser, a golf club (used in a manner inconsistent with the manufacturer's labeling), a sex "toy" that looks more like a rocket launcher munition, and more. It's OK though -- she's fighting back against some very sick sadistic men (and at times defending a very good man). Being from Sweden, this movie is rated R for more than a 30-second sex scene in dim lights and three brief scenes of partial disrobement in a bedroom or bathroom in addition to scenes of bloodletting and gore, not to mention skimmed-over scenes of two rapes and one payback. (There may be more details in the 180-minute version shown in Sweden and Europe but I saw the 152-minute U.S. version that's enjoyed an extended stay at the Landmark River Oaks, its exclusive venue in Houston.) We gradually learn more about Lizbeth's past and why she chooses to act or retaliate rather than crumple up and remain a victim; all I can say is that audiences seem to find in her a sympathetic and resourceful hero who will not let injustice stand. Our story begins as Lizbeth's exceptional intelligence and hacking skills have been hired to dig up dirt on Mikael Blomqvist, a crusading magazine publisher (whose career greatly resembles that of the book trilogy's author, Stieg Larsson). She finds nothing bad, which to her proves there is nothing bad (or she would have found it): Mikael is the real deal, a true crusader for those who have been wronged. She continues tracking him for her own reasons and ultimately introduces herself (in her own passive-aggressive way) then teams up with him on his current assignment to solve the mystery of what happened to Henrik Vanger's beloved niece 40 years previously. The mystery is supremely well layered and masterfully executed -- and even though I suspected the gist of the resolution from the opening scene, the detective-story developments and denouement were so intricately and movingly portrayed that I enjoyed the movie a great deal and would welcome the chance to see it again. When finally seeing the movie, I had ordered and have since received all three globally best-selling novels (the third one was released May 25). 5 stars.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

The Manchurian Candidate (1962) is a solid political thriller from the age of McCarthyism and the Cold War. The script blends real events (such as Korea's brainwashing of American troops in the 1950s as documented by Robert Lifton) and one-ups McCarthyism not only with a foreign plot to assassinate the U.S. president but something far more sinister -- and then throws in another devious twist or two. The more their performances sink in, I savor how Laurence Harvey is scintillating as the reluctant and deeply conflicted war hero Raymond Shaw, Frank Sinatra is wholly human as the torn Maj. Bennett Marco who just knows something is very wrong, and Angela Lansbury is devastating as the fulminating anticommunist crusader "Mrs. Iselin" with a nefarious agenda (and a few sick secrets). Both men serendipitously find love after their harrowing military service with two very different women and it helps redeem them -- though the tortured Raymond is in nearly every other way a pawn to his brainwashing. (I said nearly.) The scene with the kiss is mind-blowing when its implications sink in. (In the Special Features, the actress explains how the director gave two specific instructions for that scene, one of them intended to increase the ominousness of the kiss, esp. for audiences in 1962. Think of it as a Sixties take on a "fava beans and a nice chianti" scene some 30 years earlier.) The movie shows a brinksmanship of plot surprises and I am fascinated by the integral spectrum of conflictedness in the lead character. His symptoms make complete sense although only at the end did it all come together. If you enjoy Casablanca, The Rope, Network, and Dr. Strangelove, you should enjoy The Manchurian Candidate (1962). Accept no substitutes. 5 stars.

Carlos Mencia: Performance Enhanced* (2008)

I laughed throughout this Carlos Mencia performance just like every other one I've seen. He's such a kid ("dit-di-di-i-h!") with his edgy observations and his on-stage physicality always contributes to the yuks. Maybe it's me but I like how he ribs people who "fell off the bus" and didn't laugh at a joke if it went over their heads. Carlos expertly pokes fun at all groups of people (race, gender, perspective) and he is usually dead-on right. How can you call a man racist who ridicules the cultural foibles of everyone (including himself) -- and applauds their strengths -- equally? (He doesn't defend cockfighting or dogfighting but is spot-on when he explains how people's backgrounds make a difference in how they treat dogs, cows, and pigs. He even says eating beef fights methane production while vegetarians consume the source of photosynthesis!) My favorite bits are when he gets on a rant about how men treat women or how women treat men because he really does put everyone on an equal footing through humor and sarcasm. Come on people, you know what he's saying is true! Listen, if you find his subject matter distasteful -- though it is clearly part of many people's lives since his audience is laughing their heads off -- then you might ask yourself if you have a sense of humor because the whole point of comedy is to compare social disparities and deflate what is unjust, inconsistent, or stupid (while all the time laughing that we're in the same boat). So if you're truly above flirting or beyond arguing with the opposite sex, it's just more Paxil for the rest of us. (Kidding!) As for the Carlos haters, don't jump on the Joe Rogan bandwagon or drum a gifted talent out of his profession unless *you* can do *better*! P.S. Carlos ticked me off at first by calling the Virgin Mary (as he does all women eventually) a b-tch -- but it's a foxhole story where he says he thought he was going to die and then he repented of his words -- so lighten up! It is counter to the whole purpose of a joke to take it dead-serious! 4 stars.

Bill Engvall: Aged and Confused (2009)

I hate to say it but this Bill Engvall show is only likely to appeal to married couples aged 45 and above. (Like appeals to like but I could have easily mistaken his graying Chicago audience for a crowd of retirees and Sam's Club members in Branson. They laughed mainly at comments that affirm the sanctity of marriage but not too hard lest they lose their dentures.) His material is so middle-of-the-road and middle-America that I think the strongest word he used is "crap" and the edgiest sexual reference he made is "Only married couples with kids truly know what a quickie is." He is funny when talking about the empty nest syndrome and engaging in tete-a-tetes with his wife when she wants to go for a walk where they can talk and hold hands "-- but Survivorman is on!" (I think he could easily update this material in ten years by saying "-- but Matlock is on!") He is a sincere and true talent, just a mild-mannered and soporific one (who occasionally laughs too much at his own impending punchlines). No doubt due to his Blue Collar Tour origins, he clearly has a chummy rapport with his audience -- so long as they still have a pulse. 3 stars.

Starz Studios: Robin Hood / Letters to Juliet / Just Wright (2010)

This 12-min Starz movie preview features Just Wright (2.5 min of Queen Latifah extensively expositing on scenes from the movie), Letters to Juliet (2.5 min of scenes with a smidge of reflections from Amanda Seyfried), and Robin Hood (2.5 min of interesting production commentary from the cast and director). Sandwiched between Juliet and Robin are 20- to 40-sec vignettes (plus one scene from Iron Man 2) for Shrek: The Final Chapter, The A-Team, The Karate Kid, Toy Story 3, Twilight: Eclipse, Despicable Me, Predators, and The Expendables. It all looks pretty good from here -- all the profiles held my interest and even slightly deepened it. 3 stars.

Starz Studios: Shrek Forever After / MacGruber (2010)

This 12-min Starz movie preview gives us 2 to 2.5 minutes each on Shrek: The Final Chapter, MacGruber, Party Down, Solitary Man, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Every preview is varied, detailed, and interesting enough to increase my desire to see each movie -- except the blah-blah-blah fest on Party Down's second season. Here is a 2.5-min expanse of blather about a show I still know nothing about, mumbled in the words of an ensemble cast (none of whose names or faces I recognize -- except Fred Savage and Jane Lynch -- much less care about) and the directors. It's that useless self-serving Hollywood piffle like "It's a really special story" and "It's really my favorite show" and "I've really become a big fan" and so on ad nauseam. And don't get me started on the cast's mugging and hugging while they make all these pointless comments. 3.5 stars except for Party Down's 2 stars so overall 3 stars.

Starz Studios: Iron Man 2 / Babies / Mother and Child (2010)

As Starz 12-min movie preview segments go, this one is pretty enjoyable. It gave more than sufficient detail and background about every movie it profiled such that I definitely look forward to seeing the films. (I wanted to anyway but now I want to even more.) Profiled, in order, are Iron Man 2 (about 2.75 min), Babies (1.25 min), Mother and Child (2 min), The Lightkeepers (.5 min), Multiple Sarcasms (.5 min), Robin Hood (.25 min), and The Karate Kid (1.25 min). In addition, tucked in before Robin Hood is a 3-min segment called "Geek Factor" that previews a restored edition of Metropolis coming to theaters this summer and DVD in November and excerpts Russell Crowe's remarks as he won a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this year. 4 stars.