Quick Movie Reviews: Doubt, Bolt, 4 Months/3 Weeks/2 Days, Best Boy, Burn After Reading, The Golden Compass

Had a veritable movie overload this past weekend. . .

Doubt (2008)
Based on the John Patrick Shanley play of the same name, this movie rendition (written and directed by Shanley) stars Meryl Streep as Sister Aloysius, Philip Seymour Hoffman as Father Flynn, and Amy Adams as Sister James. Despite what you may have heard or read, all of the acting is excellent. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it is a true joy to watch actors do what they do best when they are at the top of their game. You get that here with Streep and Hoffman. The surprise is Amy Adams. She’s been criticized for being too lightweight here but she is pitch-perfect for her role as the naïve and innocent Sister James. The movie is engaging from the get-go as you are introduced to the main characters. At its most basic, Hoffman represents progress in the Church while Streep represents tradition. Let the battle begin. Set in 1964, the film focuses on the battle between Sister Aloysius, who believes that Father Flynn has had an inappropriate relationship with the school’s first black student, and Father Flynn, who is just as adamant about his innocence. You’ve heard the rumors and, yes, it’s true – there is a 15-minute scene with Viola Davis, who plays the black student’s mother, that is an on-screen acting lesson. She more than holds her own with Streep and the performance is so powerful that I didn’t even hear breathing in the theater. I was instantly reminded of the singularly short scene between Hal Holbrook and Emile Hirsch in last year’s Into the Wild. Here’s the problem. . .after Davis’ seminal performance, the movie begins to sag under its own weight. Enough with the wind! Enough with the rain blowing in the windows! We get it!

Bolt (2008)
The kids and I saw this terrific movie in Disney 3-D. The basic plotline is that Bolt (John Travolta) is adopted by Penny (Miley Cyrus) and they star as the heroic duo on a hit TV show. The twist? Bolt has no idea he’s in a TV show so he believes that he has super powers. This doesn’t become an issue until he escapes the studio to rescue Penny. This is where the fun ensues. We are introduced to Mittens (Susie Essman) who brings Bolt around to reality. The movie starts to slow somewhat when we are introduced to one of the best cartoon characters to come along in a while – Rhino the Hamster. Voiced by Mark Walton, Rhino is a huge Bolt fan and instantly injects the film with energy and fun. If you don’t go see Bolt for any other reason. . .then go see it for Rhino. He absolutely makes the film. The movie is rated PG. My guess is it’s primarily for the ending scenes that feature Penny in real danger in a real studio fire with Bolt going in to save her. It is scary. There is fire. There is smoke. There is fade to black. Knowing that, I would still recommend heartily to any and all.

4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days (2007)
Hmmm. . .there are some movies made for a small, select group of people who enjoy discomforting subject matter portrayed via a hand-held camera with sub-titles. If you are one of those people, then this movie is right up your alley. What I liked about it is that it is shot like a documentary. The movie just starts in the middle of a conversation between two college students in Romania in the 1980s. Even if you didn’t know what the movie was about, you get the idea fairly early on that they are working to arrange for an illegal abortion. Sounds like a winner, doesn’t it? Through a friend, they find a Mr. Bebe who agrees to perform the procedure. Yes, you see him perform the procedure but only after he gets “paid,” which only adds to the disturbing nature of the film. The interesting thing about the film is that if you didn’t know that it was a film, then you wouldn’t suspect that these are actors. There are a couple of ham-handed moments in the film where the director chooses to show us everything when, in my opinion, it would have been more powerful just to show the reaction on the actors’ faces and then leave the rest to our imagination. This movie is definitely for a select group of people. It’s up to you to decide if you’re one of those people.

Best Boy (1979)
In the late 1970s, Ira Wohl decided to take his camera and peer into the lives of his cousins – Max and Pearl Wohl and their mentally challenged son, Philip “Philly” Wohl. The documentary was released in 1979 and won the Oscar for Best Documentary in 1980. The purpose of the documentary is to show how Philly’s parents cope with being elderly caregivers to a 40+-year-old mentally challenged man. What is Philly going to do when they can no longer care for him? Other than a brief stint in a mental hospital, Philly pretty much stayed with his parents for 40+ years. While he is certainly high maintenance, they had settled into a routine. This film started out slow for me because, honestly, you have to get past the feeling that this is exploitive. However, you come to realize this project is designed to help both Philly and his parents. The most heart-wrenching theme of this doc is watching the parents realize that they need to let Philly grow beyond their walls but, at the same time, understanding that they absolutely do not want to let him go. Philly is their reason for being.

Burn After Reading (2008)
This movie has all of the elements that I love about a Coen Brothers film – strong character driven dialog with a premise that defies description. At the end of the day, the reason everyone’s lives in this movie get completely out of control is because Frances McDormand’s character, Linda Litzke, is unhappy with her appearance. Through an odd quirk of fate, I happened to watch the last scene in Michael Clayton (2007) between Tilda Swinton and George Clooney – one of the great closing scenes in a while. Then I popped Burn After Reading in the DVD player and watched them carry on a torrid affair. McDormand, as usual, lights up the screen. Clooney is hilarious as a paranoid State Dept. Marshal. I loved John Malkovich as a fired CIA analyst who has a hair-trigger temper and is a terrific ranter. But the scene-stealer here is Brad Pitt as poor old dopey gym trainer Chad Feldheimer. You have to figure it has to be difficult for one of the coolest guys in Hollywood to play a huge dope, but Pitt pulls it off and pulls it off believably.

The Golden Compass (2007)
Well, here’s the good news – my girls and I watched this on movie night not too long ago and woke up the next day with our faith intact. Whew. I’ve never read the Philip Pullman books that the movie is based on but I have to think that true fans of the Pullman books would be disappointed. The movie was not good. The editing is poor and appeared choppy. It’s as if the director had a longer film in mind but then decided to simply piece together what he thought were the best parts. I found the lead character, Lyra, to be annoying and the actress playing her to not be good. The director yelled “Act” and that is exactly what she did. The special effects were great with one of the most interesting characters being an exiled polar bear voiced by Ian McKellen. As I understand it, Pullman wrote the books in answer to C.S. Lewis’ “Chronicles” so that in Pullman’s books, the church or Magisterium is evil. While this anti-church sentiment is certainly present in the movie, neither of my kids picked up on it. What my kids did get EXTREMELY upset about is that the movie ends but doesn’t end. The ending clearly anticipates a second installment which may not happen because the movie did not do that well at the box office. For my money, there are better fantasy films out there and better uses for your time.

Pat Hingle, R.I.P.
And so it goes with character actors. They are asked to fill the frame and support the primary cast. They are asked to provide balance to the films with an understanding that the spotlight is on the lead actor. The best ones get tons of work, get instantly recognized by sight but have no name recognition. One of the best was Pat Hingle who died on Jan. 3 at the age of 85. Most of you won’t recognize the name but if you’ve watched more than five movies in your life, you will no doubt recognize his face – look him up on imdb.com. Probably his most visible role was as Commissioner Gordon in all four of the early Batman movies, but I'll be honest and say that when I heard he died, I thought of his role as the chief of police in Sudden Impact (1983).