Triage

Whoever said “war is hell” was sure on target. And that saying applies not only to the frontlines but also the home front. What these men and women see during war makes it impossible to forget and move on to lead normal, fulfilling lives once they arrive back home. In Triage, Colin Farrell does not play a soldier…rather a frontline photojournalist who is known for capturing some of the most gritty war footage out there. He seems to thrive on the blood and the gore, at first. Nothing seems to faze him. Or does it? In Kurdistan, where he is covering the latest hotspot of violence, he is injured…in circumstances we do not see. He seems relatively well, physically, but after he comes home, something is wrong…both physically and emotionally. This is a man who had witnessed bodies getting torn apart, piles of corpses waiting to get disposed of, disgusting hospital conditions (even calling it a hospital is a sick joke) and a doctor who marks the “untreatable” soldiers and takes them out and shoots them to end their suffering. So, what makes anything worse than the everyday norm? We later find out that there was something that happened that involved someone he cares about a great deal. And he blocked it out of his mind, as an emotional safety net. Can we blame him? Colin Farrell here is top-notch…some of his best work ever. Trying to convey bottled up emotions can be harder to portray than behaving like an emotional mess and Farrell does the job well. Not for the faint of heart, but this one is a must-see for anyone who likes powerful, riveting dramas.

Things We Lost in the Fire

I was not expecting to like this movie. Halle Berry is good but Benicio Del Toro is excellent in this film about love, loss, friendship and grief. Playing a man fraught with agony over the death of his best childhood friend and dealing with a debilitating drug addition, Del Toro's performance makes this so-so movie a very strong film. The death of his friend, who was Berry's husband, is the focal point of the film...most everyone's struggles and problems stem from that event. Except Del Toro's...the death of his friend is just one of many things that have snowballed downhill in his life. If you are not enticed by the plot, watch it for Del Toro's performance. I'm sure you will not be disappointed.

No Reservations

I liked Mostly Martha, so it’s always hard when a film that was good to begin with gets the remake once-over. It happens quite a bit with older films…many black and white. I guess Hollywood feels the attention span of movie-goers is about 30 years or less. But, what’s usually really frustrating is when a RECENT foreign film is remade into an English film. Um, excuse me, we CAN read subtitles, you know! So, here we go with another contemporary film…this time a very well-received German film…that is getting the Hollywood touch so Americans can go to the movies and not have to spend two hours READING. The horror, the horror! And, I’m not even that big of a fan of foreign films! Imagine how insulted staunch devotees of international cinema are!!!!! All that aside (is that possible after my rant?), Catherine Zeta-Jones plays a tough, temperamental chef who runs her NYC restaurant kitchen like clockwork until her sister dies and she’s left with the responsibility of raising her niece. Enter Aaron Eckhart as a replacement chef and more than just cooking fires begin to heat up. This is a sweet, touching film…more than just your average romantic comedy. It has edge and some truly poignant moments between the Zeta-Jones character and the young girl. Is it better than Mostly Martha? Well, no. But, I honestly didn’t expect it to be. It is a remake after all.

Death at a Funeral

One of the funnier films I’ve seen in a long while. Set during their father’s funeral, two brothers (one MUCH more successful than the other) run the gamut of problems and family issues during the should-be-sorrowful gathering. From the wrong corpse in the casket to an alleged gay love affair, this movie really does have it all. It’s original and well acted…and most of the humor is above board (there were only a few times I wish the filmmakers hadn’t “gone” there). If you like British comedies, you MUST watch this one. And, even if you don’t normally like the humor of the Brits, try it anyway. It’s a hoot!

The Darjeeling Limited

First of all, I never thought I would be writing a review on a Wes Anderson movie. Or even an Owen Wilson film. So, it's fair to say that The Darjeeling Limited is another film I didn’t think I would like...at all. But, unlike Wes Anderson’s other films, this one relies more on its plot and characters rather than on its inane quirkiness. A story about three brothers, all of whom have been estranged from each other for a time, who buried their father and are now on a quest to find their long-lost mother. Their quest takes them on a train trip through India, where their mother is believed to be in hiding. Yes, it's quirky, but it's a good, easy-going sort of quirky that I don't mind. The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou were seeping with quirkiness, and not an innocent, harmless kind either. The quirks here are not part of the plot -- they are just little blips in the characters' personas. It is a colorful, fun movie...a great road-trip film!

Incendiary

Incendiary examines how a London terrorist attack forever destroys the life of a working-class mom. Michelle Williams, who was nominated for an Oscar for her supporting role in 2005’s Brokeback Mountain, plays a London mother and wife...the opening scenes capture her closeness with her 4-year-old son and the distance with her husband. She meets Jasper Black, played by Ewan McGregor and sees her chance to escape some of the dullness of her marriage. When her son and husband head to a local soccer match, she sees her chance to get together with Black. While she's with him, a terrorist bomb explodes at the soccer stadium and her son and husband are among the dead. She runs through the gambit of emotions...sadness, of course...relief, that her mundane marriage is over?...guilt, that she was betraying her husband at the very moment of his death?...hatred, for the terrorists responsible for the loss of her beloved son? She tries to find some understanding by befriending the suspected bomber’s son, but this just leaves her more disillusioned. Yes, Incendiary sounds like a bleak movie with little hope, and though at times it is, some optimism does manage to sneak in. Williams does a superb job of conveying all sorts of emotions. Her performance raises this movie from just another post-911 tale to a deeper, more powerful film on loss and redemption.

The Lucky Ones

I am not a big fan of recent war movies…especially those about the Iraqi War. The ones I have seen have had a distorted message that messes up the story so much that it ruins the movie. But, the cast was so good here…I thought I would try it. And, it turned out to be a good, strong movie that is more about what war does to the people and less about why we are over there. The story revolves around three lost souls…who are on month leave from the Army and from the Middle East. Two of them want out of the Army…one is just confused with her life in general. But, in the end, they all find that the Army not only provides them with common ground, it is the stability they all need. Wonderful!