Moonlight (2002)

AH, YOUNG LOVE. I remember my early days of pubescence: Meeting new girls, the awkward conversations, smuggling drugs in my lower intestine…wait, what?

Plot:
12-year-old Claire (Laurien Van den Broeck) discovers a wounded, bleeding boy (Hunter Bussemaker) in her family’s garden shed. The boy was serving as a mule for drug runners, but was shot and left for dead when he didn’t “deliver” all of their contraband. Claire, who is going through puberty and discovering the appeal of boys, keeps him a secret from her parents (Johan Leysen and Jemma Redgrave) and nurses him back to health. One day, while changing his soiled drawers (stay with me), she discovers little baggies in his stool – the remaining contraband the dealers wanted before they shot him. When the drug runners realize he’s still alive (and may still have the rest of their stash), what lengths will Claire go to protect him?

Critique:

Filmed in the small European country of Luxembourg with an English-speaking cast, Moonlight is an atmospheric tale of young, awkward love between a strong girl and a shy boy, featuring beautiful cinematography by Guido van Gennep (his first feature) and a bare, haunting score by Fons Merkies. In many ways, Moonlight feels like a prototype for Let The Right One In (minus the vampire angle, though blood plays a significant role in both).

Van den Broeck carries the film exceptionally well, showing acting chops well beyond her years (she was just 13 when Moonlight was filmed) – using her commanding eyes to convey emotion and “speak” for silent, extended passages of the film.

A couple of nits: There’s a bleeding parallel between Claire and the boy (her menstruation, his wounds) that never fully comes together. And the third act tapers to an ending that’s a bit too artsy and nihilistic compared to what preceded it.

Moonlight won a handful of awards, either for Van den Broeck’s performance or the direction of Paula Van der Oest. It’s an overlooked little film if you’re searching for something interesting, intriguing, or off the beaten path.

Rating:

Is it suitable for your kids?

Van der Oest must have an obsession with bodily fluids, because Moonlight has at least one graphic scene each of menstrual blood, bowel movements, urination, and vomiting. Also, the film may be a bit too “European” for some viewers’ tastes: There’s drinking, smoking, and drug-taking by Claire and the boy, and Van den Broeck is briefly topless in a sex scene with him. In terms of violence: The drug dealers beat and stab one of their own to death, Claire rips an earring off a man who gave her and the boy a ride, someone is killed with a pair of scissors to the throat, a dog is killed, and there’s an attempted rape.

Will your FilmMother want to watch it?

I honestly don’t know. It probably depends on her tastes. If you think she’d like an added dimension of vampires, you both might be rewarded more with the similarly-themed Let The Right One In.

There…there’s where we left the better ending.

Moonlight
* Director: Paula Van der Oest
* Screenwriter: Carel Donck
* Stars: Laurien Van den Broeck, Hunter Bussemaker, Andrew Howard, Johan Leysen, Jemma Redgrave
* MPAA Rating: N/A



Buy Moonlight from Half.com >>
Rent Moonlight from Netflix >>

Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss (2007)

I’M A BAD DAD.

Well, more like a deceitful dad.

Let me explain: I wanted Dash to watch Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss with me for this review, but I knew there’d be no way if he knew the full title or true plot. I told him it was simply called Romeo & Juliet, and it was about two seals who wanted to be “friends” but their families wouldn’t allow it.

I still sensed some reluctance, but after some additional cajoling during our recent snowpocalypse in the Northeast, he gave in.

Plot:
For those who need a refresher course from their Cliffs Notes, Romeo & Juliet tells the story of two warring families, the Montagues and the Capulets. One day, lovelorn Montague seal Romeo (Daniel Trippett) falls for Capulet seal Juliet (Tricia Trippett), but they must keep their forbidden love a secret – not only from the rival families, but also from a boorish elephant seal Prince (Phil Nibbelink) who wishes to make Juliet his own.

Critique:

Like A Fish Tale, Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss is an interesting detour from the big-budget animated blockbusters put out by Pixar, DreamWorks, etc. But also like Fish Tale, Romeo & Juliet’s blend of traditional-looking 2D characters with blatantly computer-generated scenery is an ill fit (in addition to writing and directing R&J:SWAK, former Disney animator Phil Nibbelink animated the entire film himself by computer). The quality ultimately falls somewhere between a Saturday morning cartoon and a Disney feature.

In terms of the storytelling: The film’s narrative is a bit underwhelming and flat, and many of the jokes and punchlines are derivative. (As adults we’ve heard them all before, though kids will probably think they’re hysterical.) There are also generous twists on quotes from Romeo & Juliet (“A fish of any color would smell just as sweet”) and other Shakespeare works such as Hamlet and Macbeth.

For the sake of a G-rated kids’ movie, Nibbelink takes liberties with the fates of the main characters (spoiler alert: Romeo and Juliet don’t die at the end), although we’re to believe that Mercutio (Chip Albers) meets the same fate as in the play (P.S.: He comes back, too). The last act gets dark in tone and visuals – though no darker than any Disney classic – including Juliet drinking the potion that makes her appear dead (which may need some explaining to younger viewers).

I’m wavering between liking or merely tolerating Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss, because it depends on a larger question that plagues the film: Who’s it for?
Boys? Too much lovey-kissy.
Little children? Much like Shakespeare’s play, the film’s subject matter is a bit heavy: fighting, dying, pretending to die, etc.
Adults? You probably need at least a passing knowledge of Romeo & Juliet (and maybe other Shakespeare works) to fully appreciate the story and a healthy portion of the dialogue/jokes.

While Nibbelink should be commended for taking on the Bard and making a G-rated film when such films are a rarity, Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss ultimately misfires in both finding and captivating an audience. When it ended, parting was not sweet sorrow...just unsatisfying.

Rating:

What did Dash think?

It’s hard to keep a 6-year-old boy interested in a love story, even if it’s done with animated, talking seals. So it was no surprise when Dash gave up on R&J:SWAK at the halfway point, declaring it “boring” and that he only likes “the seals who make the jokes” (Mercutio and Benvolio).

Will your kids like it?

I think R&J:SWAK will definitely be more appealing to little girls who dream of princes, princesses, and fairy tales. If Dash is any indication, young boys may bail when the love story gets in full swing.

Will your FilmMother like it?

My wife (who teaches high school English, including Hamlet) approached R&J:SWAK as more of a curiosity to see how Nibbelink adapted the classic play for kiddies, but she was pretty underwhelmed by what she saw. Maybe your FilmMother will have more appreciation for the love story and cute little seals.

Uh, thanks, but I've got Kleenex back at my cave.

Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss
* Director: Phil Nibbelink
* Screenwriter: Phil Nibbelink
* Cast: Daniel Trippett, Tricia Trippett, Chip Albers, Michael Toland, Phil Nibbelink, Chanelle Nibbelink
* MPAA Rating: G

Valentine’s Day (2010)

CLICHÉ (n): a hackneyed situation, characterization, or theme.

Example: For Valentine’s Day, FilmFather and his wife went to see the movie Valentine’s Day.

I guess that could also qualify as redundant. Anyway, I had almost convinced her to see Avatar, but ultimately she decided on a romantic comedy, rather than wear 3-D glasses for nearly three hours and watch what some naysayers have called Dancing with Smurfs.

Plot:
Valentine’s Day follows about two dozen Los Angelinos on February 14th, many of whose lives intersect as the day progresses, including a florist (Ashton Kutcher), his girlfriend (Jessica Alba) whom he proposes to that morning, his family-man co-worker and neighbor (George Lopez), his co-worker (Jennifer Garner) who’s unknowingly dating a married man (Patrick Dempsey), a frustrated TV sports anchor (Jamie Foxx), an office worker (Anne Hathaway) who supplements her income as a phone sex operator, her hard-as-nails sports-agent boss (Queen Latifah), the office worker’s bumpkin boyfriend (Topher Grace), an over-the-hill quarterback (Eric Dane), his PR person (Jessica Biel) who hates Valentine’s Day, a businessman (Bradley Cooper) and a returning war veteran (Julia Roberts) sharing a 14-hour flight to LA, an older married couple (Hector Elizondo and Shirley MacLaine), and their lovelorn grandson (Bryce Robinson).

Critique:

Despite my wariness and lack of enthusiasm entering the theater, I actually wound up liking Valentine’s Day. Don’t get me wrong, I won’t be busting it out on DVD months from now with buddies of mine, but it definitely made for a fun night out at the movies with my wife. I actually laughed out loud several times. And I’m not ashamed to admit it.

The cast does a commendable job of keeping up with Katherine Fugate’s script, which is smart, funny, and sensitive in all the right places. Kudos also to Fugate for keeping the many storylines tight and well-intertwined…and for being able to make phone sex sound PG-13-rated.

That being said, Valentine’s Day probably could have been just as entertaining with a few less characters to follow (the two teenage storylines, featuring couples Emma Roberts / Carter Jenkins and Taylor Swift / Taylor Lautner, are successfully played more for laughs than sentiment). And with a running time of two hours, my wife and I eventually started keeping score on whose storylines had to be closed before the movie could finally end.

Valentine’s Day is fun without being ridiculous, sweet without being schmaltzy. If you and your significant other had to push out your Valentine’s Day plans for some reason, or even if you’re just looking for a good date movie, this flick will fit the bill.

Rating:

Is it appropriate for my kids?

Valentine’s Day is rated PG-13 for adult situations and language, including some brief partial male nudity and Hathaway’s skills as the aforementioned phone sex operator (which she performs at least a half dozen times during the film).

Will your FilmMother like it?

Yeah, no doubt. Don’t be surprised if you enjoy it, too. In fact, here’s your chance to proactively suggest a date movie that she may actually want to see. Earn points where you can, my fellow men.

He's got it bad, got it bad, got it baaad...
he's hot for Garner.

Valentine’s Day
* Director: Garry Marshall
* Screenwriter: Katherine Fugate
* Stars: Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Garner, Patrick Dempsey, George Lopez, Jamie Foxx, Anne Hathaway, Queen Latifah, Topher Grace, Eric Dane, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Julia Roberts, Hector Elizondo, Shirley MacLaine, Bryce Robinson, Emma Roberts, Carter Jenkins, Taylor Swift, Taylor Lautner
* MPAA Rating: PG-13 (adult situations and language, some sexual material and brief partial nudity)

Let The Right One In (2008)

IN HIS GREAT BOOK Five Stars!, author and Filmcritic.com founder Christopher Null says to never read other critics’ reviews of a film before you review it; it’ll influence and compromise the integrity of what you write.

But with Let The Right One In, this was hard to do. Reviews were everywhere about how great this film is – that it put fresh blood, so to speak, into the vampire genre.

So as best I could, I mentally set aside what I’d read and pressed Play...

Plot:
• Outcast Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) is a bullied 12-year-old who’s obsessed with violent crimes (he even keeps a scrapbook of newspaper clippings of horrendous headlines). One day, new neighbors move into his apartment complex: a man and a 12-year-old girl named Eli (Lina Leandersson).
• After a few awkward encounters, Oskar and Eli become friends. What Oskar eventually discovers is that Eli is a vampire, and the man is Renfield to Eli’s Dracula – helping get her the blood she needs to live.
• Eventually, Eli kills on her own and gets sloppy, catching the eye of a neighbor during one of her attacks. Will her cover be blown? Or will Oskar protect her, no matter what?

Critique:
• Director Tomas Alfredson, along with cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, has created a visually beautiful film – albeit a largely quiet, slow-moving one (featuring a sparse, quiet score by Johan Söderqvist). The film is full of long, hanging shots of still beauty, and there’s minimal action for the first two acts – truthfully, there’s minimal action for a drama, let alone a supposed horror film.
• Hedebrant and Leandersson play their parts well, using insecure body language and timid conversations to convey their awkwardness and isolation from the rest of the world.
• And while most of Right One does play out rather quietly and methodically, there are several powerful scenes – including, with no exaggeration, one of the most awesome scenes I’ve witnessed in a long time.

My initial reaction to Let The Right One In was, “bore-riiiiing” – a plodding pace with lots of “isn’t this beautiful?” cinematography. But the more I thought about it, I now feel it’s a pretty good movie, and here’s why…

To say Right One is a horror film is misleading and incorrect. More accurately, it’s a burgeoning love story between two young misfits, one of whom just happens to be a vampire. If you take that mindset going into the film, you’ll end up with a more satisfying experience.

Swedish, with subtitles.

Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)

Will your kids want to watch it?

You may have kids who think “cool” when they hear “vampire movie,” but be forewarned that Right One is rated R for good reason. Despite the long stretches of scenery and dialogue, there’s plenty of graphic violence: People are dismembered, burned alive, have their neck snapped, hung upside down from a tree and bled from their slit throat, and have their blood sucked by a very hungry Eli. There’s also a brief glimpse of a bottomless Leandersson as she changes clothes.

Will your FilmMother like it?

If she can get past (or is okay with) the bloodletting and occasional gore, as well as the extended scenes of inaction, the budding relationship between Oskar and Eli may very well pull her in and keep her engaged in the film.

Creepy...looks like something I'd see at It's Lovely! I'll Take It!

Let The Right One In
• Director: Tomas Alfredson
• Screenwriter: John Ajvide Lindqvist
• Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Ika Nord, Patrik Rydmark
• MPAA Rating: R (some bloody violence including disturbing images, brief nudity and language)


• Buy this movie for less at Half.com >>
• Netflix

Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan (2008)

FOR MOST OF MY ADULT LIFE, I’ve been fascinated by Genghis Khan. The amount of land and people he conquered is almost unfathomable. Seriously, he makes Alexander the Great look like a punk.

So my excitement was palpable when I started watching Mongol. I was about to see how one man ruled nearly the entire Asian content for more than two decades.

Or was I…?

Plot:
• In late 12th-century Mongolia, young Temudgin (Odnyam Odsuren), aka the future Genghis Khan, is choosing his bride at age nine with the guidance of his father and ruling khan, Esugei (Ba Sen).
• Later, Esugei is poisoned by an enemy tribe and dies, and his kingdom is ransacked by one of his lieutenants, Targutai (Amadu Mamadakov) – who vows to return when Temudgin is older and kill him to prevent the boy from getting revenge as an adult.
• Fast forward a dozen years, and we follow the trials and tribulations of adult Temudgin (Tadanobu Asano) – watching him suffer through slavery, the quest to reunite with his child bride Borte (Khulan Chuluun), his strained relationship with childhood “brother” Jamukha (Honglei Sun), and his quest for revenge against Targutai.

Critique:
• You may be surprised to know that Mongol is not about epic battles and Genghis Khan’s domination of Asia. It plays more as drama than war epic, with long bouts of exposition and an underlying love story. Yet don’t be mistaken, there are several battle sequences between warring tribes, and they’re masterfully shot in all their impaling, blood-splashing glory.
• Russian-born director Sergei Bodrov keeps Mongol moving at a methodical pace, using unexpectedly deep dialogue (with co-writer Arif Aliyev) as well as sweeping cinematography by Sergey Trofimov and Rogier Stoffers of sprawling deserts, snow-covered terrain, and thick, green mountains – plus an incredible scene near the film’s end of Temudgin riding on horseback during a thunderstorm.
• Japanese film star Asano is a revelation as the adult Temudgin – bringing the commanding presence, piercing gaze, and steely reserve needed to take on such a larger-than-life historical figure.
• Mongol was nominated for (and won) a slew of international awards, including a 2008 Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

As for the abovementioned absence of large-scale battles and one man’s domination of a continent, be patient…Bodrov is developing The Great Khan for 2010, with Asano and Chuluun reprising their roles. I can hardly wait.

Mongolian, with subtitles.

Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5).

Will your kids want to watch it?

I’m not sure if young kids will even have heard of Mongol, which is fine because it’s definitely not for young’uns: There is a lot of bloody warfare and one very audible sex scene shot in silhouette. That said, it’s nothing teens or even late tweens couldn’t handle.

Will your FilmMother like it?

On the surface, Mongol may not seem like a date movie for you and the missus. But with strong female characters and an against-the-odds love story, she may actually enjoy it if she can handle the intermittent bloodshed.

Do not scorn a weak cub. He may become the brutal tiger.
- Mongolian Proverb

Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan

* Director: Sergei Bodrov
* Screenwriters: Arif Aliyev, Sergei Bodrov
* Stars: Tadanobu Asano, Khulan Chuluun, Honglei Sun, Amadu Mamadakov
* MPAA Rating: R (bloody warfare violence)

You and what army?
Oh...that one.

Buy this movie for less at Half.com >>