Quick Movie Reviews (May 27, 2008)

Sydney Pollack – R.I.P.
A moment of silence, please, for Sydney Pollack, director/producer/actor, who died of cancer on May 26. In 1986, he won Best Director and Best Picture Oscars for Out of Africa. His Oscar nominations included Best Director for 1982’s Tootsie and 1969’s They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Then he was nominated as producer for 2008’s Michael Clayton and Tootsie. Other films he directed that you might recognize:
The Interpreter (2005): Good suspense flick with Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn.
The Firm (1993): Loved the book. Hated the movie.
Absence of Malice (1981): One of my favorite newspaper movies. Really, can you beat Wilford Brimley? Favorite Brimley quote: “A leak? You call what we got here a leak? The last time someone had a leak like this, Noah built hisself and ark.”
The Way We Were (1973): The ultimate chick flick. When Katie (Barbra Streisand) brushes back a strand of Hubbell’s hair (Robert Redford), I mean, really, I get misty every time.
Films that he produced you may recognize:
Cold Mountain (2003): I hated this movie with Jude Law, Renee Zellwegger and Nicole Kidman.
The Quiet American (2002): Solid remake of the 1958 film. The update stars Brendan Fraser and Michael Caine.
Iris (2001): Deeply disturbing and heart wrenching film starring Kate Winslet, Hugh Bonneville, Dame Judith Dench, and Jim Broadbent. All actors at the top of their games.
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999): Good flick. Bunch of young folks acting all suspenseful. Plus, you get to see Matt Damon be real creepy.
White Palace (1990): Stars Susan Sarandon and James Spader. Pretty good movie but the best parts cannot be described here.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Let’s face it. . .to fully appreciate this movie, you must go see it in the theater. Needs to be a huge screen. Digital picture. Surround sound. I am a huge Indiana Jones fan and this one does not disappoint, which I was worried about considering some of the negative buzz it had been getting. As one reviewer put it: Indiana Jones is pretty much critic proof. I was worried about Ford’s age and how they were going to handle that but Spielberg/Lucas handled it head on and made it a funny part of the whole deal. It did my heart good to see Karen Allen again. She was awesome. Shia LaBeouf held his own and did a good job. Cate Blanchett is appropriately over the top as a crazed Soviet Scientist. There’s plenty of action. It’s fun. It’s funny. For those of you with little kids – there are some creepy moments (like in most Jones movies) but they are short-lived and no big deal. All in all, I would definitely recommend it – you get your money’s worth and the some.