The Hangover (2009)

The buzz on The Hangover said it was stupefyingly hilarious -- and I suspect it is for the 12- to 24-year-old male whose dream job would be to star on Jackass or Punk'd. However, mature adults of either gender (but esp. estrogen-Americans) will likely find it a hit-and-miss -- stupefyingly dumb or just thuddingly not funny for the most part, with the occasional zinger of a line or a scene. To be fair, the ensemble cast shows a reasonably good chemistry that supports the story convincingly from start to finish; it's just such an outlandish story -- over-the-top with some gross-out humor, but lacking the comic genius of There's Something About Mary, Sideways, The Whole Nine Yards, or other movies. Our story begins as Doug (Bradley Cooper) assembles his groomsmen and prepares for a tasteful, expensive wedding paid for by the bride's father (Jeffrey Tambor), who entrusts his son-in-law-to-be with the keys to his beloved ragtop convertible so the foursome can celebrate their bachelor party in "Napa Valley." Their actual plan, though, is to hightail it to Vegas and par-tay like wild men one last time. Zach Galfaniakis plays the bride's tubby schlub of a brother, who has a range of mental and emotional deficiencies; another groomsman is an irreverent high school teacher and semireluctant family man; and Ed Helms plays a pussywhipped dentist who plans to propose to his abusive shrew after the wedding. They set themselves up in a $4800-a-night suite and ... the next thing they know, it's the morning after, the place is a shambles, they remember nothing about what happened, Doug is missing, Ed is missing a tooth (and wearing a wedding ring), there's a chicken in the room, a baby in the closet, and a tiger in the bathroom! How do the three groomsmen backtrack their party-down timeline and locate Doug in time to get to the wedding -- and most importantly, keep everything that happened (once they find out) their not-so-little secret? The detective game is wild and crazy and involves men with baseball bats and guns, women on stripper poles, a lot of swearing, and too much Heather Graham (a little goes a long way, usually taking the movie south with no return). If you find humor in nut shots with Tasers (delivered by schoolchildren while egged on by police officers), this is your kind of movie. The characters are not that sympathetic so when they get smacked, it's hard to care (or laugh) -- but I liked Ed and Zach best and suspect you will too. 3.5 stars. (6-14-2010, posted 1-14-2017)

Black Swan (2010)

Natalie Portman completely deserved Best Actress at the Oscars for her role as Nina in Black Swan. (Sorry, Annette Bening.) Nina endures physical sacrifice and psychological torture in the ramp-up to her prima-ballerina performance as the White Swan as well as the Black Swan (and Natalie had to take her chops to convincingly play the part). This movie gives us the story of Nina's psychological meltdown as she wrestles with an Olympian ballet dancing regimen interwoven with sexual harrassment (and possibly predation) from two fronts -- one is her boss and the other is her rival (who may also be sleeping with the boss). Things happen, blood appears and disappears numerous times, and soon we like Nina are uncertain of what is reality and what is only in the mind. This is a powerful and fraught film that is meant to set you on edge. Enjoy! 5 stars. (2-15-2011, posted 1-14-2017)

The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)

So that Britain can achieve economic dominance in the continent, a resolute British colonel and engineer John Patterson (Val Kilmer) is hand-picked by a real sour-ass major to complete the construction of a river bridge in Uganda within five months. Operations go smoothly for several weeks until workers start getting pulled down by man-eating lions, even in daytime. The cats move like ghosts, eluding detection and retribution, and the imagination (or panic) of many fear-stricken workers gets the best of them. Patterson is determined to "sort things out" with the lions, finish his bridge, and be reunited with his wife and an infant son he has yet to see. However, night after night goes by without success, and additional attacks on the camp. Eventually, a nonchalant but wily hunter (Michael Douglas) arrives with a Masai tribe to kill the powerfully built lions. The movie is lush with swelling African-themed music and a cinematic respect for its native peoples. The director now and then springs developments on the viewer that feel contrived, such as having a bird repeatedly attack Patterson in the night, knocking him to the ground just as the lion arrives to lunge; or having Patterson leave his sniper's perch to enter the thicket and have yet another close call. Even so, the grass, the wind, and the snarls of the African landscape are employed to good effect and much tension is to be had -- and some gore. Here is a taut tale of terror faced by determination, uncertainty faced with camaraderie, and snarling death faced by steely courage. Enjoy! 4.5 stars. (2-28-2011, posted 1-14-2017)

Agnes of God (1985)

Agnes of God is a captivating and spiritual murder mystery about a simple-minded young nun (Meg Tilly in a tour-de-force performance) who is found screaming in her locked cloister with bloody sheets -- and a strangled newborn child. She denies any memory of what happened as well as any knowledge of how babies are born. (She had a most unusual childhood and came to join the convent as a "true innocent," explains her mother superior.) The convent is perpetually locked down and only the fiercely protective mother superior (Anne Bancroft) has the keys. How could the pregnancy have happened? Is it a miracle or a crime -- and if so, who committed it? A court-appointed psychologist (Jane Fonda) chain-smokes her way through the chain of evidence as she becomes increasingly obsessed and sympathetic with the young nun's plight, fighting pressure to "solve" what the political and ecclesiastical leadership insists is an open-and-shut case. Agnes of God is an intellectual thriller with the occasional verbal barrage between Fonda and Bancroft, or Fonda and Tilly, esp. as the inner motivations and hidden secrets of each woman are revealed through civil conversation or adversarial confrontation. I would like to own this movie since I expect to watch it again and again. (The dialog is often so soft-spoken that the streaming version cannot be easily heard at maximum volume on a laptop, even late at night with only the central air blowing.) Enjoy! 5 stars. (11-29-2010, posted 1-14-2017)

Cheri (2009)

Cheri is the masculine term of affection used by Lea (Michelle Pfeiffer) for her young lover (Rupert Friend). (Because she appears on the movie art, you might think the term applies to her, but that would be the feminine form Cherie.) Think of Lea as a Victorian-era cougar. She is a courtesan, that is, a professional escort or consort (prostitute) catering to noblemen. Officially, society greatly frowned on the profession (even as noblemen sanctioned it), so courtesans and their children kept their own company and socialized together. They were, after all, highly intelligent and astute women who were financially independent and knew the richest and most powerful men in the world. Lea's closest friend, Madame Peloux (Kathy Bates), asks Lea to school her son in the ways of the world. A love develops between them that becomes deep and haunting for both, esp. since it was not what either one was expecting. This story is about the heartfelt paths of that romance and what it comes to mean for each of the lovers. It's a great story and one I liked better than Bright Star (2009) or even Elizabeth (1998). 4.5 stars. (8-20-2010, posted 1-14-2017)