• The Secret World of Arrietty
     
     http://bartybooks.com/the-secret-world-of-arrietty.htm
  • Gone
     
     http://bartybooks.com/gone.htm
  • Wanderlust
     
     http://bartybooks.com/wanderlust.htm
  • This Means War
     
     http://bartybooks.com/this-means-war.htm
  • Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
     
     http://bartybooks.com/ghost-rider-spirit-of-vengeance.htm
  • The Vow
     
     http://bartybooks.com/the-vow.htm
  • Safe House
     
     http://bartybooks.com/safe-house.htm

Movies under ‘Drama’

Gone

An indispensable element in all good mystery stories is the red herring. No, this kind of red herring is not some smelly fish, but something that distracts you so that you are thrown off the scent of the real killer. Brazilian director Heitor Dhalia and “Underworld: Awakening” scenarist Allison Burnett have appropriated those venerable red herrings and combined them with the storytelling device about the guy who cried wolf for “Gone,” a shallow, slow-burn serial killer thriller. The psychological saga grows out of a kidnap victim’s memory of the criminal who grabbed her and left her at the bottom of a “Silence of the Lambs” type hole where several other victims had perished. Miraculously, our hero manages to escape, but the Portland Police Department cannot find either the hole or the killer so they write her off as a lunatic.

It doesn’t help matters that Jill Conway (Amanda Seyfried) has spent time in a psycho ward. Predictably, the authorities aren’t amused when Jill shows up at the police department with news that her alcoholic sister Molly (Emily Wickersham) has gone missing. Since she cannot get the police to launch an investigation into her disappearance, Jill buys herself a revolver and starts questioning everybody who might know something. Eventually, she tracks down the guy who not only abducted his sister but also her, too. Meanwhile, the police are looking for her because she has brandished her gun. As it turns out, the killer rings her up on her cell phone and gives her directions deep into the woods where he is awaiting her return. Throwing caution to the wind, Jill follows his directions. You can figure out after about an hour of “Gone” elapses that Jill Conway may be crazy but crazy like a fox. This make the Portland Police look pretty bad after they send her packing.

Credibility is the key to everything that occurs in “Gone,” and you know that Jill is on the right trail when her missing sister still doesn’t show up. Everybody but one cop treats Jill as credible, but he vanishes from the action, prompts us to believe that he has something to do with the case. Meanwhile, the cops do their dead level best to find Jill. Of course, these incompetent cretins blow that objective, too. As Jill questions people who may have information about her sister, she lies about the circumstances surrounding the case. Mind you, Jill goes out on a flimsy limb with her plethora of lies.

“Gone” isn’t very good. The dialogue is as forgettable as the characters are one-dimensional. One of the Portland police detectives exits the film for a long stretch making himself look suspicious. Eventually, after Jill proves that she isn’t a lunatic, she dispenses vigilante justice. Occasionally, “Gone” recalls the Ashley Judd thriller “Kiss the Girls,” but neither Dhalia nor Burnett conjure up any surprises that make you catch your breath. The far-fetched ending and the incredible cell phone that our heroine can talk on for long lengths of time in the depths of the woods undermine this occasionally atmospheric nail-biter. The performances by Seyfried and solid cast are the film’s sole saving grace.


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The Vow

The Vow was made for the Valentine’s Day audience. As I went into this movie on the evening of February 14th, the theatre was packed with couples. This movie gave them exactly what they paid for. There were plenty of cute moments that make you say, “ahhhhhh.” There strange nostalgic moments that makes you realize exactly how much time Rachel McAdams forgot (wait for the moment when she turns to Channing Tatum and asks him who the President of the United States is).

This movie delivered for the audience at large. But several problems persist. For such a unique perspective on memory loss, The Vow falls into the flow of the average romantic comedy. As the core of the storyline develops (which strangely reminds me of Terri Schiavo), I can’t help but feel like I have seen this before. There were so many interesting possibilities that a memory-loss movie could pursue. Instead, the writing team (which is known for big star movies such as He’s Just Not That Into You and Valentine’s Day) decides to take the safe route. The writing team stops this movie from being great.

Despite its problems, The Vow relies heavily on its actors. With Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Sam Neill, and Scott Speedman (who I still see as the romantic interest from the TV hit “Felicity), relying so heavily on your actors is perfectly alright. Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum have a chemistry that I didn’t expect. This chemistry drives the storyline forwards and leads to several dramatic and hilarious scenes that will surprise you.

I need to make a note about movies that are “Based on a True Story.” It’s difficult to take these story lines at face value. By basing a story on true events, the producers are hoping that you will not look too far into the plausibility of the situation. When you compare the movie with the true events, however, the differences are immense. Namely, the movie makes the crash result in one problem: the loss of several years of memories. In reality, the woman what badly hurt and also suffered from severe short term memory loss. The possibility of losing several years of memories and not haven’t any other physical side-effects (aside form a tiny scar around her eyes) is almost entirely impossible.

The Vow is cute enough to enjoy at face-value. If you are looking for a movie to simply enjoy and not think too deeply, this is the movie for you. 2012 has been an awful year for Romantic Comedies. One for the Money was dreadful. This Means War promises to be almost as bad. If you are pining for a romantic comedy, this will fill your appetite until the first great one of the year is released. Looking over the list of romantic comedies to be released, however, there isn’t much. My money is on the new American Pie movie.


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Good Deeds

Tyler Perry’s “Good Deeds” is the first Tyler Perry movie I have seen. I saw the trailer when I went to see “Red Tails” in January, and I was intrigued. I’ve been eagerly anticipating opening night ever since. And talking it up until my family are sick of it.

I wasn’t disappointed. But first, a word of warning. I wouldn’t call “Good Deeds” a family film. I may not take my teenage sons to see it — although the great lessons may win out over the questionable scenes in the end. Parents should be aware that there is significant vulgar language, especially in the first half of the film, and that there are both frank discussions of sexuality and a couple of rather intense lovemaking scenes that may not be suitable for younger children. The main character is living with his fiancée, and they are having sex before their marriage, which some people may object to.

That said, “Good Deeds” is a great story. Wesley Deeds grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth and has the perfect life. Only Wesley isn’t really sure it’s his life, though he has buried these insecurities so deep that he isn’t really aware of them anymore. His fiancée finds him utterly predictable. But they think they are in love, and their families are thrilled that they are finally going to marry. Lindsey Wakefield, on the other hand, is living in an ever-worsening nightmare. She is barely making ends meet, and from the first moment that we see her, it’s clear just how precarious her situation is. And it just keeps unraveling.

Lindsey works as a janitor in Wesley’s corporate headquarters. They meet when she parks in his reserved spot, and there is an altercation involving Wesley’s boorish brother. We see from the beginning that Wesley has a good heart, but that figuring out the right thing to do can take him some time. Wesley and Lindsey keep running into each other, but he doesn’t make a significant move to help her until the day he witnesses her child being torn from her arms by a social worker. In the process of helping Lindsey, Wesley not only falls in love, but finds spontaneity and rediscovers his childhood dreams.

The story rings almost true. I’d like to believe that there is a corporate CEO out there who would tolerate the kind of attitude that Lindsey displays — I haven’t met one yet, but maybe. And some of the scenes are a little predictable — I saw the ending coming from the minute Wesley told Lindsey goodbye.

But that’s why “Good Deeds” is a good film and should be a successful one. Like any fairy tale, there is just enough fantasy about it to keep us with one foot firmly planted in reality, while the rest is realistic enough that we can look wistfully on, thinking that it would be very nice if things did work just that way.


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