MOVIE REVIEW - Junebug (2005)

A nice, quirky family drama about “the good son” coming home to rural North Carolina with his new wife (the always lovely Embeth Davidtz, who needed a better haircut here). Top-notch acting throughout. Amy Adams received an Oscar nod for the overly excited and overly talkative sister-in-law. Her charm won you over to the character, especially in her adoration of Embeth. The dad was played to heartbreaking and heartwarming effect by Scott Wilson (though some of his best scenes were in the Deleted section). Celia Weston played the typical Southern manipulative mom, but brought depth and heart to what could’ve been an overlooked role – especially her tears when her son was singing. And who is this Allesandro Nivola? That guy knows how to sing a hymn – my favorite part in the movie. And the look of shock, horror, adoration on Embeth’s face during and after the song, how touching. You can tell this is in intentionally quirky indie flick – a scene of about 2 minutes where we’re all just watching an air mattress blow up; another where neighbors look across the lawn at each other for a too-long time, then walk away – and we watch that entire long walk up the drive, including the extended shot of the bugs flying around the grass – just conspicuously emphasizing the low budget of the film – and proud of it. But that’s ok, it’s mostly worth the quirks. There are times when I was frustrated at how bad rural families communicate and deal with their problems – it doesn’t Have to be like this, you know… but I guess it so often is, and it’s nicely portrayed here.

MOVIE REVIEW - Constant Gardener, The (2005)

Ralph Fiennes needs to stay away from Africa. He succeeded in making the worst movie ever filmed, with The English Patient. And here, while certainly not as bad as that disaster, his squints are the same, the dreariness of the terrain carries to here, and he just isn’t the quality actor that people give him credit for. Add to that this year’s theme of Hollywood slamming Corporate America, and several preachy moments (when Rachel said “We can save this one”, it was nice and rang true; later, when Ralph said, “We can save this one”, it was just preachy and so self-righteously enlightened), and you have a movie I would just as soon not have seen.

Except, there’s Rachel Weiss. Oh, the charming, hot, smart (and just oh so close to naked) Rachel. She just about makes any movie worth watching. I’m not sure she deserved the Oscar nod here – there wasn’t a lot of acting, just a lot of smiling and turning on her quiet, intelligent charm (plus one big heated liberal rant scene) – but maybe that’s enough. Well, it helps, anyway.

MOVIE REVIEW - Dangerous Minds (1995)

Too predictable, but Michelle was great as always, and the story still pulls nicely on your heartstrings. Good to root for the underdogs.

MOVIE REVIEW - What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

Nicely done, a bit of a downer while remaining hopeful. Yes, Leo was good, but he was still Leo - yuck. Never been a fan of Juliette, and here is no exception.

MOVIE REVIEW - Body, The (2000)

In better hands, this could've been a Great movie. A difficult drama surrounding an archaeological find, a crucified body in a rich man's tomb, with no broken bones. Yep, the Catholic Church is terrified of the ramifications, as are the Jews and even the Palestinians. It was a fascinating study in what men do when their world view crumbles. But the script was a little weak in spots, and why in the world would anyone choose Antonio Banderas for the role in this potentially great but somewhat lacking film?

MOVIE REVIEW - Jiminy Glick In La La Wood (2005)

The pseudo-sitcom was pretty funny, but moving Jiminy and his wife (the sometimes funny Jan Hooks) to the big screen was pretty much a dud.