Thursday, April 26, 2012

Bully

2.5 Paws
Seen recently at Aksarben Cinema

If Ty Smalley's parents don't break your heart, then you don't have one. It's difficult to watch the couple as they arrive at the church to attend the funeral of their boy, an 11-year-old who committed suicide. "It's okay," Kirk whispers to his wife as he propels her along the sidewalk toward the entrance. "We're just going to tuck him in one more time."

Have kids always been this mean? How can a parent tell his son to 'get his act together' before his sister starts attending his school so she won't get bullied as well? How can a bus driver DO NOTHING while one of her riders gets wailed on en route to school?

Director Lee Hirsch, himself a victim of bullying, is masterful with shock and awe but does little to examine the reasons behind the phenomenon. Perhaps he'll tackle that in Bully II. In the mean time, he's encouraging all who will listen to take a stand against bullying. I did it for Alex Libby.

Bonus Bones: 6
I think I counted six dogs, most of whom were the family pets of those victimized. 

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

The Forgiveness of Blood

2 Paws
Seen recently at the Dundee Theatre (still musty, still open)

The Albanian countryside is hauntingly beautiful, but this depiction of life within it is bleak and unforgiving. The old ways still rule, even though they make no sense to the outside observer in 2012.

In its best moments (and there aren't a whole lot of them), the film conjures up images of The Godfather - old men with guns sitting around smoking and drinking while plotting the appropriate course of action after someone's been offed. In its worst moments, it's a bit of a yawner. I'm guessing the brooding monotony is purposeful to reflect the family's isolation, but it doesn't make for good movie watching. The only characters I connected with were the resourceful Rudina (Sindi Lacej), the sister who has to quit school to pilot her family's rickety bread wagon around town, and Klinsman, the sturdy old horse who makes the wagon go.

Bonus Bones: 2
Two Albanian dogs get a few moments of screen time - the guard dog outside the house and the barker riding around on top of a vehicle in the street scene where Rudina is in search of cigarettes (to sell, not smoke).

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Jeff, Who Lives at Home

2.5 Paws
Seen recently at the Dundee Theatre (still musty, still open)

What did they do to Ed's eyebrows? Coupled with his neatly manicured moustache/goatee combo, Helms (Pat) - the mean/sad half of the brother duo - looks like a cartoon version of the devil. It was a bit distracting.

So was the film's rocky start. It teeters on the brink of self-important crapdom before it starts to click about a third of the way through. If you can wait that long (Snowcaps or Junior Mints help), you'll be rewarded. The entire cast, helped immensely by the ageless Susan Sarandon (Sharon), is somehow able to transcend the material, and the ending is kind of fantastic in an every man sort of way.

There's just something warm and cuddly about 6'4" Jason Segel (Jeff), the sweet/sad half of the brother duo, even though he appears to be a pot-smoking loser who lives in his mother's basement. I believe what he's selling. I even had a little lump in my throat as we left the theatre.

Bonus Bones: 0 
No dogs, no cat, no gerbil - not even a goldfish. What kind of a suburban household is this?

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

3 Paws
Seen recently at Aksarben Cinema

Don't let the strange title keep you out of the theatre. This charming 'little engine that could' story is directed by Lasse Hallstrom, who knows how to make good movies with heart (The Cider House Rules, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Chocolat).

Ewan McGregor rings true in every role I've seen him tackle, and he's wonderfully sweet as the bookish fisheries expert (Dr. Albert Jones) forced into trying to make an uber-rich sheikh's vanity project a reality. I've loved Emily Blunt (Harriet) ever since her breakout performance in The Devil Wears Prada, and she's so appealing in this role that even I want to marry her. But it's Amr Waked (Sheikh Muhammed) who gives the film its soul and makes the audience believe that something as simple as fly fishing can begin to change the world, at least his part of it.

You don't have to be an angler to get it.

Bonus Bones: 0
No dogs, but plenty of fish.