Short Redhead Reel Reviews
©1986 through 2012 by Wendy Schadewald
www.shortredheadreelreviews.com
Rating Legend: (4=Don't miss, 3=Good, 2=Worth a look, 1=Forget it)
“Afghan Nights” (R) (1) [Violence including a rape, language, and some sexuality.] [DVD only]
When a heavy-drinking, traumatized ex-Navy SEAL (Steve Bacic) is hired by a covert operations leader (Michael Madsen) to lead a four-man team (Colin Lawrence, Pete Antico, Vince Murdacco, and Gary Stretch) into war-ravaged Afghanistan to rescue a fallen comrade (Francesco Quinn) and perhaps his missing brother (Chris Kramer) in this lame, preposterous film, the special task force team is attacked by ghosts of Mongolian warriors and Genghis Khan.
“American Teen” (PG-13) (3.5) [Some strong language, sexual material,
Cliques still rule in high school in this captivating, refreshing documentary that primarily focuses on four high school students, including an acne-prone teenager (Jake Tusing) who yearns for a girlfriend and acceptance, a free-spirited wannabe filmmaker (Hannah Bailey) who fears returning to school after a breakup with her boyfriend and then begins dating the handsome jock (Mitch Reinholt), the well-liked basketball star (Colin Clemens) who needs a scholarship and dreams of going pro, and a spoiled rich ****** (Megan Krizmanich) who is still reeling from the suicide of her older mentally challenged sister and is desperate to get into Notre Dame, in their senior year in Warsaw, Indiana.
“Big Miracle” (PG) (3) [Language.]
When three California grey whales get trapped in the ice five miles from open water in Point Barrow, Ak., in 1988 in this inspirational, family friendly, heart-tugging, factually inspired, propaganda-heavy, star-studded (Ted Danson, Kathy Baker, Tim Blake Nelson, John Michael Higgins, Bruce Altman, Shea Whigham, James LeGros, Stephen Root, and Vinessa Shaw) film, which is based on Tom Rose’s novel Freeing the Whales, journalists (John Krasinski, Kristen Bell, et al.) gather to document the story while a Greenpeace activist (Drew Barrymore) leads the effort of many concerned citizens (Ahmaogak Sweeney, John Pingayak, et al.), to save the whales.
“Brideshead Revisited” (PG-13) (2.5) [Some sexual content.] [DVD only]
Striking photography highlights this somber, long-winded film based on Evelyn Waugh’s romantic novel in which an Oxford art student (Matthew Goode) forms an unlikely friendship with a gay, flamboyant alcoholic (Ben Whishaw) in 1920s England, but when he meets the rest of the family, including the stern, snobbish, controlling, Catholicism-obsessed mother (Emma Thompson), who is estranged from her husband (Michael Gambon) living in Venice with his mistress (Greta Scacchi), and his attractive sister (Hayley Atwell), the friendship quickly sours.
“The Business of Being Born” (NR) (3) [DVD only]
A candid, eye-opening, educational, controversial 2007 documentary produced by Ricci Lake and directed by filmmaker Abby Epstein’s that interviews midwives to discuss the pro and cons of homebirths, which are fewer than 1% in the United States compared with 70% in Europe and Japan, and shows the moving experiences of several pregnant mothers who elected to birth their babies at home.
“Chronicle” (PG-13) (2.5) [Intense action and violence, thematic material, some language, sexual content, and teen drinking.]
As the mysterious super powers increase and get out of control in three high school students (Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, and Michael B. Jordan) in Seattle who document their supernatural gifts with a hand-held camera in this imaginative, teenage-geared, unpredictable film, their friendship and ultimately their lives are threatened.
“Grand Illusion” (NR) (3) [Subtitled] [DVD only]
Unexpected humor punctuates Jean Renoir’s captivating 1937 black-and-white classic film classic about an aristocratic, by-the-book French Army captain (Pierre Fresnay) who finds a common bond and connection with a proud and respectful German Imperial Army officer (Erick von Stroheim) while he plans his escape with fellow inmates after he is imprisoned with a blue-collar lieutenant pilot (Jean Gain) and other French officers (Marcel Dalio, Julien Carette, Sylvain Itkine, Gaston Modot, et al.) during World War I.
“The Last Mistress” (NR) (3) [Subtitled] [DVD only]
Rumors, scandal, secrets, and gorgeous costumes abound in this initially slow, risqué, creative, and engaging French love story in which a handsome, notorious Don Juan (Fu’ad Ait Aattou) tries to reassure the protective, savvy aristocratic grandmother (Claude Sarraute) of his beautiful, innocent fiancée (Rozane Mesquida) of his love for her granddaughter in 1835 Paris by confiding in her and recounting his 10-year love affair with a seductive, sultry Spanish aristocrat (Asias Argento) who he claims to have given up a week before his wedding.
“Le Cercle Rouge” (PG) (3.5) [Subtitled] [Plays only on Feb. 8]
While evading a vengeful Mafia boss (André Ekyan) and capture by a diligent, feline-loving detective (André Bourvil) in this intriguing, entertaining, well-acted, 140-minute, 2003 The Red Circle film, a just-released convict (Alain Delon) and an escaped murderer (Gian Maria Volonté) plan a jewelry heist with an alcoholic sharpshooter/ex-cop (Yves Montand) in this restored 1970 French classic.
“The Leopard” (NR) (3.5) [Subtitled] [DVD only]
Gorgeous cinematography, scenery, sets, and costumes dominate Luchino Visconti's lavish, engaging, colorful, 3-hour, Oscar-nominated 1963 film in which a well-respected Italian prince (Burt Lancaster) tries to keep his wife (Rina Morelli) and seven children (Lucilla Morlacchi, Brook Fuller, et al.) isolated and safe on his Sicilian estate during a time of political strife and raging war in the 1860s while his headstrong, handsome nephew (Alain Delon) returns home a war hero after serving as a Garibaldi Army captain and quickly falls in love with the beautiful, free-spirited daughter (Claudia Cardinale) of the mayor (Paolo Stoppa).
“The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” (PG-13) (2.5) [Adventure action and violence.] [DVD only]
After their handsome son (Luke Ford) and a duplicitous professor (David Calder) uncover the tomb of a ruthless, power-hungry, immortality-seeking emperor (Jet Li) in 1946 in China in this action-packed, fast-paced sequel peppered with terrific special effects, wit, and plot holes, a British archeologist (Brendan Fraser) and his novelist wife (Maria Bello) head to Shanghai and team up with an immortal witch (Michelle Yeoh) and her kung-fu-kicking daughter (Isabelle Leong) to prevent the cursed emperor from returning to power with the aid of his terracotta army.
“A Separation” (PG-13) (3) [Mature thematic material.] [Subtitled]
When an Iranian housewife (Leila Hatami) seeks a divorce from her bank employee husband (Peyman Moaadi) because he is unwilling to move with her and their 11-year-old daughter (Sarina Farhadi) to another country to improve their life in this insightful, poignant, heartbreaking, realistic, Golden Globe winning and Oscar-nominated film dominated by empathetic characters, the separated couple ends up conflicting with a pregnant, stressed out caretaker (Sareh Bayat) and her unemployed husband (Shahab Hosseini) after she accuses the husband of killing her unborn baby after a physical altercation while caring for his Alzheimer’s-afflicted father (Ali-Asghar Shahbazi).
“Swing Vote” (PG-13) (2.5) [Language.] [DVD only]
After an irresponsible, beer-swigging, divorced, laid-off assembly worker (Kevin Costner) at an egg packaging plant in New Mexico discovers that a snafu has occurred at the voting facility where his bright, precocious daughter (Madeline Carroll) illegally voted for him in this satirical, cameo-dotted (Willie Nelson, George Lopez, Judge Reinhold, Mare Winningham, Richard Petty, et al.) comedy with an understandable, but frustratingly noncommittal ending, a hometown reporter (Paula Patton) and hundreds of voracious press camp out at his modest trailer while the Republican president (Kelsey Grammer), his rival Democratic presidential candidate (Dennis Hopper), and respective campaign managers (Stanley Tucci and Nathan Lane) circle around him like vultures in an attempt to woo the politically clueless and apathetic voter whose one recast vote in ten short days will decide the outcome of the election.
“Vampires” (NR) (3) [Subtitled] [DVD only]
A tongue-in-cheek, creative, funny, bloody, 2010 mockdocumentary in which a foolhardy documentary filmmaker (Vincent Lannoo) interviews a Belgian family of vampires, including a reckless husband (Carlo Ferrante) with a penchant for making deals for used coffins with a local funeral director (Julien Doré), his incestuous housewife (Vera Van Dooren) who has a taste for children, a pink-coffin-loving daughter (Fleur Lise Heuet) with a live lover (Arnaud Maillard) and a desire to be human, his party-obsessed son (Pierre Lognany), and a comely servant (Viendu-Benidicta Bantuelle), that has a childless couple (Selma Alaoui and Batiste Sornin) residing in their cellar, learns to laugh by watching horror films, and is exiled to Canada when their hotheaded son has a taboo affair with the horny wife (Alexandra Kamp-Groeneveld) of the clan leader and then must follow new rules as set by their blood-sucking French leader (Paul Ahmarani) in Montreal.
“Water Lilies” (NR) (3) [Subtitled] [DVD only]
While a shy, tomboyish, French teenager (Pauline Acquart) becomes infatuated with a flirtatious synchronized swimmer (Adèle Haenel) on a Paris swim team in this touching, down-to-earth, coming-of-age film, her pudgy, 15-year-old best friend (Louise Blachère) is desperate to kiss a hunky French student (Warren Jacquin).
“The Woman in Black” (PG-13) (2) [Thematic material and violence/disturbing images.]
When a widowed, Victorian British lawyer (Daniel Radcliffe), who has a 4-year-old son (Misha Handley), arrives in a weary and traumatized English village in 1889 to review documents at a creepy, isolated mansion per the instructions from his boss (Roger Allam) in this brooding, dark, slow-moving, psychological thriller, which is adapted from Susan Hill’s 1983 ghost story, he is befriended by a grieving father (Ciarán Hinds), who tries to help his traumatized wife (Janet McTeer) cope with the loss of their son, and greeted by suspicious, terrified locals (Shaun Dooley, Cathy Sara, et al.) while encountering a vindictive, mysterious ghost who takes her revenge on helpless children (Victoria Hardy, Alfie Field, Aoife Doherty, et al.).
“The X-Files: I Want to Believe” (PG-13) (1.5) [Violent and disturbing content and thematic material.] [DVD only]
When stumped and frustrated FBI agents (Amanda Peet and Alvin Joiner) request the help of two former agents (David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) to help them and a psychic, pedophilic, Catholic priest (Bill Connolly) solve the kidnapping of an FBI agent in West Virginia in this disappointing, choppy, gory, convoluted, highly anticipated thriller based on the popular television series, they discover ghoulish Russians (Fagin Woodcock, Callum Keith Rennie, Veronika Hadrava, and Denis Krasnogolov) involved in Frankenstein-type experiments.
The preceding films were reviewed by Wendy Schadewald, who has been a Burnsville film critic since 1986. To see more of her film reviews, log on to www.shortredheadreelreviews.com.