Movies : December 2003

31 December 2003

The Cooler

A fine collection of acting talent playing to type, with William H. Macy in the lead as the limping Bernie serving to sour people’s luck in the Golden Shangri-La, an aging casino where stuff gets done the old-fashioned way. Which as often as not involves a nose or other body part broken, usually by proprietor Shelly (Alec Baldwin) or one of his edgy investors. Seems there’s a new crowd headed up by forward-thinking Larry (Ron Livingston, yes, from Office Space) who wants to cater to the family-oriented visitor. But Bernie figures he’s just about a week away from paying off his debt to Shelly when a new waitress, Natalie (Maria Bello, ack, another graduate of Coyote Ugly) takes an interest in his luck-turning ways. But with love blooming between the two, Bernie’s knack evaporates and the heat is on. A hustling son (Shawn Hatosy) with pregnant wife (Estella Warren) in tow (does every character drive a car from the 1960’s?), not to mention Shelly’s pair of tough guys, complicate Bernie’s life even more. Bloody, with unexpected nudity.

102 minutes.

28 December 2003

House of Sand and Fog

Two characters set at odds over a house with a view of the Pacific: Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly), in recovery, newly husband-free, and lackadaisical about opening the mail; Massoud Amir Behrani (Ben Kingsley), formerly a colonel in the Shah’s government with a villa on the Caspian and now working as a ditch digger and as a cashier in a convenience store. When a bureaucrat’s error about an unpaid business tax (like Kathy is capable of running a business, she barely qualifies as a housecleaner) leads to the seizure of the house and Kathy’s eviction, Massoud sees an opportunity to invest in this house and restore some of the dignity to his family (unaware wife Nadi and son Esmail), and the stage for conflict is set. Connelly had me until 30 minutes into the movie when her character reaches for the cigarette vending machine. From smoking to drinking to adultery with the sheriff’s deputy bored with his wife and two children, no amount of parallel shot composition can equate the two characters, and bad things happen to the undeserving. But isn’t Jennifer tired of standing alone on a dock???

125 minutes.

27 December 2003

Cheaper by the Dozen

A desperate comedy about a family whose sole option in birth control is a vasectomy is enlivened by Steve Martin’s relatively unaffected performance (compared to Looney Tunes Back in Action that is) as the father of a twelve-strong brood and Ashton Kutcher’s energetic send-up of a self-obsessed model turned actor who’s living with the oldest daughter (who moved out a while ago to escape the constant atmosphere of crisis and have a career ). Hilary Duff (who might do better to channel her inner brunette more often) is billed above Piper Perabo (despite the latter’s big splash three years ago) and I’m assuming I don’t watch enough television to recognize the other moppets rounding out the cast. From a rural location somewhere in Illinois (which is nevertheless close enough to a Main Street to jog to—a collection of small businesses which shouldn’t exist anymore, what with the Walmartization of America) the family is uprooted as father Tom accepts his dream job of coaching the football team at his alma mater and they move to an enormous house in some Chicago neighborhood where rich people used to live. What? The house hadn’t been subdivided into apartments yet? What property insurance company would dare to carry this destructive family? Anyway, when mother Kate (Bonnie Hunt) gets a publishing house interested in her book of large-family living and she’s asked to go on a 2-week promotional tour, disaster is inevitable.

98 minutes.

19 December 2003

Mona Lisa Smile

Was Stalin dead yet? What were my ancestors up to? Such are my thoughts as I try to orient myself to the time period (1953) of a movie which follows four young women through a year at Wellesley College and the teacher who throws them for a loop with her new-fangled ideas about their future. Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) arrives in Massachusetts on a train from California to teach Art History 100 (to seniors?) full of hope in instructing the most promising young women in the nation. Betty (Kirsten Dunst) has everything figured out, or at least her mother does, down to what part of the school year she’ll miss for her honeymoon, and isn’t afraid to speak up when someone needs correction. Joan (Julia Stiles) is just as polished as Betty but might have a surprise or two up her tailored sleeve. Giselle (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is sleeping with the Italian professor, who’s got his own eye on the new teacher in town. Connie (Ginnifer Goodwin) would be described nowadays as having self-esteem issues. With the strictures of the time firmly established (and the Griswold decision over a decade in the future) and Betty’s comeuppance no surprise to anyone who’s seen Romy and Michele… there’s nothing for it but to await the minor fireworks as Katherine’s non-traditional teachings rile up the alumna and the administration and see what Joan wants to do with her life. Improbable for the degree of drama supplied over two semesters by one teacher, but in the face of such concentration of star power, that’s a quibble.

119 minutes.

Entries subject to editing at any time. Last edited on: 12-Sep-2004