He ain't no P-P-P-P-P-Porky P-P-P-P-Pig...

It's ever so hard to believe that April showers should bring may flowers when the sky is an ominous hue of gray with looming clouds rushing in to cover the light of the sun. The day had moved from the typical early briskly cool to a sharply cutting blade of freezing temperatures. Eventually, the heavens opened and began to weep it's with held tears to clean away the remnants of Old Man Winter's long embrace. The cool early afternoon found Jack Frost busily courting Madame Spring like two star crossed lovers. In their embrace, they waltzed across the remaining day's long hours turning the moisture ladened dust particulates of Madame Spring's rain drop dress into a swirling dress of frost ferns and cottony snow. Weather Madam Spring was joyous or not, we may never fully know, but the day was reverted into a frozen northern sheet of white as the two conspiring lovers danced the day away casting off the snow that made Madame Spring's dress so lovely.

With the day's work completed, I make the slippery drive home through inches of snow covered streets. With the Magnum's traction control flashing like a strobe light to signal ever slippage, I sputter the Traction controlled seizing vehicle to the curb-Or what I think is the curb-since the blowing snow was so heavy that I'd wager that even a snow fox would be challenged to find it's own tracks if it quickly turned to find them. In the moments that the car door opens to the time I reach the breezeway door, I take a note of how beautiful this momentary reprieve is. The city lights are on early and reflecting their bright white glow through the falling snow and illuminating the street below. The tracks in the street are ever changing to reveal hues of; grays, burnt umber, ivory, cream, even streaks of blue, rose, sage, and violet. What a marvelous sight the changing of colors. Even the placed one may find them can be a wonder.

As Bobbie, Max, Courtney find the time to help me dig out a path for the car and clear the sidewalks, we enjoy the time that we are working together. Our shared toil, grunts and groans make quick work of the wintry mess. As we shoveled the cement ways clear, our dogs Mitzy and Lucy inspect our thoroughness and look to us as if to assign an approval. The day's are longer now and the darkening light still confines the sky to ever darkening shades of gray. We finish not a moment too soon and retreat into our home to settle in for the night.

With sighs of completed relief, we make our way to the living room, onto the new couch and under the down comforter that Bobbie pirated off of our bed. Warm and comfortable with the wind picking up it's force outside, we watch this:

It's just after the roaring twenty's and King George V has passed on. The sons of the king must make their stand for the the crown, the empire and their people. On one hand, we have the reluctant playboy Prince who is very much self engrossed and cares only for his own personal exploits. The younger Prince-a much sterner man-is more likely to reign with the people's mind nearer his heart. The younger Prince does have a flaw that creates a sense of weakness about him. He has an awful stammer that will ultimately lead him on a road to self revelation, self discovery, and a self actualization of his life. He learns what it means to be a stronger man...A man who's fears can be overcome and how one's life can be transformed from that moment on.

I flat out enjoyed this film. It's a brilliant piece of work. The actors are so skilled in their craft that the audience is transported to the era. Firth conveys with an exacting precision what a personal fear can do to the person who's suffering from it. Rush, with his many varied credits, is such a magnificent character actor that he adapts to the role so convincingly that one could never tell that he'd ever played a contra role such as Javert in Les Miserables. An uplifting tale of that is not only heartfelt and powerful, this picture show is what great films are made of. If you need to, beg, borrow, or steal this one. You won't be disappointed. There's a reason why Colin Firth won an Oscar for this, and it shows.

Another great film to join the ranks of emotionally compelling screen plays like Life is Beautiful, The King's Speech will have you rooting for the underdog.

For it's marvelous content, and flawless story telling, this film ranks a 9 out of 10 royal scepters...Even with out CGI.

Off with her head!

After much thought, I final sat here to jot down my thought for the other week's movie:

In a distant land filled with magic and wonder, we find a kingdom much like any other. We have a hopefully overbearing king, the valiant first son of the king, a saved maiden, the faithful man servant, a spirited heroine, and the dopey second son of the king. With the forces of evil, our confident eldest prince finds his true love stolen from him on his wedding day. Because of these ill doings, our second-more home spun-Prince must venture forth with his bother to find and return his brother's soon to be bride.

Opening night is usually filled with wonder and a sense of heightened expectations before one enters the cineplex parking lot. After a great meal at the local Irish pub, we entered the theater with filled bellies stuffed with corned beef, Shepard's pie, and fish and chips. The day's expectation of this movie gave me much hope that this will be humorously vibrant film. Sadly, this was not to be. Though the movie did have it's moments of hilarity, the second oldest prince played by Danny McBride is like many other roles that he's been scripted in before. His rendition of an English/Scottish/Irish accent can be forgivable, but when his motions and speech reflect his persona from the HBO series Eastbound and Down, it's almost unforgivable-Even if it's Danny McBride. After all, he was pretty good in Up in the Air-Even when he was paired with George Clooney. The only saving grace for this movie is a nearly naked Natalie Portman in a chastity belt standing next to a pool. I guess that'll give it one more point on my scale.

Though this portrayal wasn't for me, I'm sure there are folks out there that will love this screen play. Those people would more than likely be fans of filmed tales like; Pineapple Express, Walk Hard, and the Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

For it's simpleton humor and an almost naked Natalie Portman, this film gets 3 out of 10 Labyrinths-Just pray that the Minotaur kills you-or does worse-before you need to see the rest of the showing. 

Up, up and...Away?

Though there has been a back log of films that Courtney and I have viewed during her spring break from school, we unfortunately have come to the conclusion that a movie a night for 365 days will not be feasible. Between; working late, gym time, homework and Courtney's High School soccer season, we'll be running a tight enough ship in the few hours that we'll have together. Trying to fit in two hours for a movie just may not work till something goes away.

It's with this information that I would like to say that we are not abandoning our resolution, but, we are streamlining the deal. We have decided that we will review one movie a week instead. We should be able to keep up on the weekly posts much easier as well. Though if there is something that we're able to view, we will post it here for you all to see.

With that said, I'll move on to the this weeks rental pick of choice.

For your reviewing pleasure, please meet:

When the world is imperiled...When evil surrounds you...When danger is lurking...Who do you call? 

Captain Excellent...

This is how we find Mr. Richard Dunn. A nondescript man with may a though running through his mind. With no way to find the expressions of those thoughts he employs a respite to figure out a way to sync his mind and his hands or find a muse to "kick start" his disjointed connection. In a sleepy coastal town he finds more that he bargained for and explores much more than he has in decades. Once a friendship has been struck between himself and a town local, they find together that they are more similar than they are able to imagine. Armed with their new friendship, they are able find a way to heal and make peace with the past.

I've wandered past this DVD cover may times at the local Family Video rental store, gave it a passing glance, then moved on. I'm not sure why I chose to pick it up today, but knowing that Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Daniels, and Emma Stone are all pretty funny, I gave it a go. To my surprise, I was flabbergasted at how rich and nuanced the plot was. One can empathize with all of the actors and actresses as they struggle with the humorously degradating moments that surround them. They are also versed well enough to "sucker punch" the audience with some strikingly beautifully craft that will tear up all the eyes within viewing distance. A funny movie accentuated with bits of sorrow, this Sundance movie proves why it's peculiar sense of vision is wonderfully fantastic. It's akin to eating a really good Szechuan Hot and Sour soup. 

An off kilter comedy that viewers of ; Garden State, Juno and Pleasantville, will enjoy, this is not one to miss.

For pure viewing pleasure with a slightly obtuse delivery, this screen view receives an very exuberant 8 out of 10 imaginary friends.

Hardtack anyone?

Many, many, many apologies for my missing a posting for the Friday before last. I beg that your forgiveness will extend to me further-as I'm surely going to be sporadic with some of these reviews.

For the Friday before last, Courtney and I "held on to our horses" long enough to staple our butts to the-ever weakening-couch springs. Once the drinks were sitting within reach, we clicked the DVD player's remote to find our miasma sights.

Last Friday's movie spun and clicked, then flashed the living room with white light as the introduction screen read:

Presented in a documentary format with stock black ans white footage of Mr. Ford's production line and pictures of the times, we are transported back to the 1920's. It is in this time that we find our cast starting their plights in different places and with their own difficult times we follow them to a singular passage. While our story's specters move about in their own separated "emotional deaths", the storyline finds them drifting into a homogeneous state that is unavoidable. In doing such, they begin to breath life back onto one another and slough off the "waking death's" that they've created for them all.

I thoroughly enjoyed this great family movie from the opening credits. The film presents a warm hold as we are lulled by the narration of David McCullough's voice. McCullough's readings seem to add a sense of believability and ground the audience into the era since he narrates many of the PBS documentaries filmed by Ken Burns. It's in this state that we are able to delve deeper into the times and the turmoil that helped to create a sense of hope during such desperate times. Though there are different stories on the convergence, the director seems to find the correct balance of apathetic scenes so that the viewers can see the relevance and the similarities that all the characters have in common. The end result yields a film that inspires with; hope, forgiveness, understanding, and heart.

A feel good movie that is sure to become a family classic if your unit loves Secretariat and even Balto.

I must give this a solid 6 out of 10 lucky horse shoes.

This belongs on the Red Planet.

The other day while Courtney and I cruised the new release wall at our local Family Video rental store looking for a few titles that we would like to add to our year long film fest, I was drawn to this DVD jacket:

In the future, we join a daring crew of astronauts that are delving into a discovery of a long distant life form that has fossilized on the Red Planet. In their...

...Awe, what am I doing? I can't even try to write this as a positive viewing experience.

Let's face it folks, this is a shotty film with horrible directing and even worse acting. The plot is fragmented beyond belief which only accentuates the shabby special effects work. If there is such a thing as a shoe-string budget movie, this is the picture was less than that. It'd equate to the plastic ferrule at the end of the shoe string. I can get behind a movie that has a lot of "grind house" features, but this one was well below even that standard. The local newscaster has more range in acting craft than the yahoos in this waste of time.

I can't even bring myself to suggest other horrible abuses of celluloid that would equate to this abomination.

The tale lasered onto this disc isn't even worth the plastic that was used to create said disk. And for that, this movie rates a 1 out of 10 on my lost satellite list.

Everlast.

Looking into the ever changing electrical inputs of red, green and blue, my dearest daughter is finding an new found respect of the exploited and the self abusing characters that grace this next script. Loaded on screen is a tour de force known as:

We see this story of perseverance detailed by a once prised fighter who has become a second rate "stepping stone" for other pugilists trying to make a name for themselves in the ring. As our boxer tries to find a way out of this ever ensnaring tangle of supporting his family with his wins, he begins to see the writing on the wall and makes a final attempt to validate his talent. With his parasitic mother as his manager and his drug hazed brother and trainer in cahoots with mother, our brawler finds love and eventual vice with the help of bartender who becomes his love interest. With an inspiring outcome, this is a feel good movie that gives us a glimpse into the trials and tribulations of others.

Wahlberg, Bale, and Adams are a sight to behold. Though this picture is another victory story told from ringside, the craft of these three actors are a sight to behold. bake with his physical metamorphosis is utterly believable with the level of commitment to get his role done correctly. Wahlberg does a fantastic interpretation of his model as he's torn by his desire to achieve his goals which is offset by a humanizing look at what his character is unwilling to lose. Adams, is a force to be recon with in her contrast, long gone are the cute rosy read cheeks of the roles that she'd been cast in before. Gritty, brash, and a lot of in-your-face-trampy edginess is what she portrays...And she does it well too.

Again, like I've said before, this is a film that we've seen already. The victory is achieved in the same way and the you'll be cheering for our hero and feeling his heartbreak as well.

Fans of; Rocky Balboa, Million Dollar Baby, Cinderella Man, and In America will definitely find an emotional cord with this one.

A great way to spend a few stolen minutes will rank this film a 7 out of 10 Golden Glove trophies in my book.

Hold on tight.

I suppose I could call this last Wednesday's frozen deluge from the heavens an emotional conundrum. In the moment when the snow falls gently to the cover the grass I'm relived to see that the Earth's current covering will be born anew with a fresh blanket of snow that resembles a fluffy white down comforter that is covering everything that is laid out before our eyes. A clean white sheet to mark a fresh start-An unadulterated canvas in which we can paint our new day, if you will. A beautiful sight created for one and all from the only planet that rounds our beaming solar body that holds liquid water in it's atmosphere.

In the negative, This Humid Continental environment should be hurried along to defrost and allow it's inhabitants to venture forth from their above ground caves made of; wood, stone and glass to reacquaint themselves with the radiating warmth of our daytime solar body sending it's lovingly warm particles to the scuttling humans that dot the world's northern hemisphere. In this envelopment of light, one must feel-to their inner core- the embraces of the enveloping light of our Sun and forget-even if momentarily-the listless floating of the long nighttime hours that make us feel alone and separated in the extended dark night that winter brings.

With the clearing toil of walkways and driveway aprons shoveled clear for the evening's rest bit, our nuclear family finds some solace in the vision of tonight's escape. We find the activation of the Sony Blu-Ray disk player is interpreting the hard copied information of transcribed light to our minds electrical gathering amplifiers with this particular vision:

On distant British isles, we find a select group of young people who have been raised to become the saviors for the rest of man kind. Raised to a naive state and equipped with a rudimentary plan of what their lives will entail, they must venture forth and find their way and struggle with terms of endearment of afflictions of desire that will be set in front of them. How they must find the way to cope with every decision that they make and in some fashion of their own design, they must make the their world tolerable.

A well told yet saddening movie event with magnificent weight and range of emotional depth transcribe by the director and cast is the example that is presented to us here. Told from a one particular view our heroine shows us how life can be; challengingly difficult, vibrantly elating, and forever hopeful. How a life without meaning can quickly become something to the counterpoint. Asking stout moral questions of what lengths human beings will subject other human beings to is always at the forefront of this film. How life, love, and the pursuit of happiness may be out of our hands and the acceptance of that may be all that is left to find hope in. In that summation, this cautionary tale will leave the audience asking if the decisions that we make everyday will cause undo harm to others-Even if the Chaos Theory is relevant.

For morally involved fans of cine-plays like; The Island, Children of Men, and Gattaca, this should be a "must see" for you.

For an unabashed alternate view into what we may be-Or what we may become-this indie film ranks an 9 out of 10 "donations" in my book. Aside from; District 9, Saving Private Ryan, and Life is Beautiful, I've yet to see another "benchmark work" such as this in a good long while.