Can't Kick this Bucket!

Jack Nicholson has always been a great asshole in the movies and he doesn't let us down here. We all know the synopsis so I won't go there. When the question comes to an older man about what he would do if he didn't have much time he would probably act like the characters in this film if he had an unlimited amount of money and insurance (Nicholson's character, Edward Cole owns the hospital). Of course we all do, so instead of watching this film we should just go out and do it...right? My problem isn't experience but being there when I'm doing it. I always think about what would it be like if I could do this in another way or how would I explain this to someone or could I make a movie out of this. I never do any of these things so the whole thing seems meaningless and I feel like the very experience is lost somewhere. If this seems more like a phenomenological treatise than a movie review...okay! The movie is so much better than all this that I think any older man or anyone who has one of those beasts in their life should see this. It is not hopeful but it is somewhat real and Morgan Friedman is great too. I cried at a rather poignant part and if you have a heart you may too. And of course you should all be quite proud of me for using the word "phenomenological" in my blog! 4.5 Sparklies

Jammed

Didn't quite expect the grittiness of this film, about human trafficking for prostitution in Australia. (duh?) The story is remarkable however and deserves a look. The actors are great (unknown to me, sorry) and the icky stuff is pretty real. So don't watch if you've a weak disposition for these things and do if you want to know about this awful practice of treating human beings like cheap disposable punching bags, sex slaves or worse. 4 Darklies

2 movie reviews with Christian Bale

3:10 to Yuma

I've been watching this guy since Batman Begins which was quite the sleeper for me. In 3:10 to Yuma he plays a rancher with a wooden leg that is forced to deliver a fiendish Russel Crowe to justice (or maybe just to a train). The movie has Peter Fonda as an old coot bounty hunter which seems just perfect. The coolest side character has to be the evil Charlie Prince (Ben Foster, remember The Punisher's friend with all the face jewelry?) He's a stylish, quick gun with no conscience. {kewl!} The story is a little disconcerting as good and evil shifts places from time to time fueled by the genius outlaw's (Crowe) manipulation and malice or good will; we never quite know which. The crook ends up judging himself guilty which is a nice twist but somehow follows well. The rancher has also the job of winning his son's lost respect which the outlaw wins simply by being an outlaw. Well directed, well acted 4.5 Sparklies

Equilibrium

In the Orwellian "Equilibrium" the respect he seeks is in himself. He plays an assassin-class cleric that must root out all art that has been rated for emotional content in a Nazi-esque culture damaged by war that removes reference to emotions to avoid a repeat of a world ruled by violence. Everyone is dosed daily with a prozac-like substance to avoid becoming a "sense offender."

Partly because he misses one of his doses, he falls in love with a women (the very lovely Emily Watson) whose lover he has killed. His son in this movie comes off as a Hitler-youth that he is afraid of and suspects of turning in his own mother. A little heavy on the need to suspend disbelief as humans really can't do much without feelings. The action is cool and Bale is convincing Well directed, well acted 4 Sparklies

Cal Gravatt

Krazy Kooza

Kooza! was an enormous pile of fun. It's good story, amazing old-style circus talent and flamboyant Cirque de Soleil style. The most fun is that we are part of the show throughout and almost immediately, as the performers roam the audience as characters-out-of-character and even playing obnoxious audience members. Every seat in the big-top is a great seat and the production expands and contracts before your eyes. As the magical gargantuan gliding gondola that serves as scenery, an entry point and the bandstand rolls to the beat and sway of the performance we're drawn into the rhythm. Confetti cannons captivate the crowd and police chases popping up from beneath the stage alarm and surprise and sometimes step on our feet as they run down aisles.
Wow! Does this sound like an eighth grade essay or what? I just had a lot of fun and I was amazed and astonished; it made me feel alive for a minute. I hope if you haven't seen it, or one of the other Cirque de Soleil shows that you do it for yourself. No smelly elephant poop neither.