Dennis (2007)

This short film manages to tell a robust three-dimensional story in less than 20 minutes.

Soft-spoken Dennis (Kim Kold) is a bodybuilder with an inverted pyramid of an inked torso equipped with bulging muscles. Movie opens with him phoning a woman and asking her out to dinner. She doesn’t recognize him but agrees to meet him that night. He must lie to his mother that he’s meeting a male friend. She’s disappointed and gives him the silent treatment when she learns they won’t be sharing pot roast and playing cards.

The date is quiet but goes well enough that she invites Dennis to join her to meet a few friends. The girls are intrigued by his muscles and urge Dennis to take off his shirt and show off his muscles. They all start dancing and are full-on objectifying Dennis when two of their male friends arrive and Dennis makes a hasty retreat. He’s upset at the girl (did she invite him to give her friends something to laugh at?) and goes home. When he arrives, his mother is still sore. She remarks that his shirt is on inside out. The final scene ends as a distraught Dennis asks his mother if he can sleep with her.

THIS MOVIE IS A MUST SEE! It’s a short story come to life.

Co-writer/Director: Mads Matthiesen

Country: Denmark

Genre: Dramatic Short

Run time: 18 minutes

Scale: 5

Weeds (Season 5, 13 Episodes) (2009)

Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) can extricate herself out of any situation with creative flair. She surprises viewers by raising and re-setting the bar of how screwed up things have to get to save her. Claiming she is pregnant just as she is about to be brown bread, her Mexican mayor/cartel head boyfriend Esteban Reyes (Demián Bichir)doesn’t trust nor believe her (not after he has photo evidence she’s been talking to the Feds).

(Spoiler Alert: Read at Your Own Risk!)

This season has Andy (Justin Kirk) realizing and declaring his love for his sister-in-law. There may be a glimmer of reciprocity, but Nancy prefers Esteban’s power, his money and also the life—after five seasons, she’s hooked on drama, crime, murder and mayhem. Rejected Andy rebounds with Nancy’s obGyn, Dr. Audra Kitson (Alanis Morissette), but is it love or revenge?

Celia (Elizabeth Perkins) is up to her usual scams...how does she get away with it? A constant thorn in Nancy, Doug (Kevin Nealon) and Dean (Andy Milder), she has the tenacity to work her way from the bowels of life to sit pretty for a while until the next bad thing happens. Doug and Dean are consistent—immature and perpetually stoned—working to figure out how to maintain their favorite state of consciousness. Silas (Hunter Parrish) persists in his entrepreneurial quest; he’s the hopeful one in this insane bunch who has a chance to make it. His calm disposition and head for business will help him succeed, if he can stay out of the clink. Shane is the biggest surprise—the boy who’s grown up flanked by violence and drug-dealing sheds his moral compass. Is he on his way to becoming a thug? We find out when season six premieres August 16.

Män som hatar kvinnor (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) (2009)

Based on the novel by Swedish author Stieg Larsson, the movie opens as journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) has been sentenced to prison for libel. But, before he starts serving his six-month sentence, he’s hired to investigate a 40-year-old cold case involving a missing teenager.

(Spoiler Alert: Read at Your Own Risk!)

Prior to the client hiring Blomkvist, he has him thoroughly vetted to make sure his nose is clean. Enter Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), a hacker tasked with the “research.” She determines Blomkvist may have been framed. Despite her job being complete, Lisbeth continues her cyberspace snooping until she is no longer satisfied being a voyeur and enters Blomkvist’s life.

The cold case has substance that yanks you into the convoluted details but the unlikely duo of the tattooed goth and the calm journalist ignites the storyline. Both characters are cool; Lisbeth is tough, smart and trusts no one. Blomkvist is gentle, smart and tenacious. I liked this movie for reasons that surprised me…the story is decent (we could have learned a bit more about the characters) but watching the two characters interact and try to make sense of what draws them to one another is magic. I cannot wait for the next installment: The Girl Who Played with Fire. (Be warned: Movie contains two extremely violent sexual assault scenes.)

Director: Niels Arden Oplev

Country: Sweden

Genre: Thriller

Run time: 152 minutes

Scale: 4.5

La nana (The Maid) (2009)

The write-ups for this movie sounded promising and full of laughs. That’s why, once I began watching, I was underwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong…there were moments of amusement, but the main character was so fueled by bitterness and anger, it was difficult to connect with her, like her or understand why this movie revolved  around her. The woman is Raquel (Catalina Saavedra) and she is the live-in maid of a Chilean family. She has served the family for more than 20 years. The movie begins on Raquel’s 41st birthday. She has been stricken with powerful headaches and dizziness. This fact, combined with her acrimonious relationship with Camilla (Andrea García-Huidobro), the oldest of the family’s four children, causes the family matriarch to add Lucy (Mariana Loyola), a young new maid to the household to assist Raquel. This sends Raquel into a tail spin and she resorts to juvenile shenanigans to haze the new girl.

The movie continues like this without any tangible arc for nearly an hour when suddenly magic occurs: Raquel displays a smile and laughter, but I won’t tell you how it happens because it’s worth watching it develop. The male writer/director has a knack for understanding the subtleties of familial relationships and human behavior. Although, he doesn’t turn these keen details into true subplots (which may have robbed focus), their mere suggestions align with and support the plot. The only spoiler I will provide you is that I yielded to tears at the end because Raquel, you won me over.

Writer/Director: Sebastián Silva

Country: Chile

Genre: Dramedy

Run time: 95 minutes

Scale: 4.5

The Dark Knight (2008)

The Batman franchise has it’s own Bat Brand, which for some is a creative turn-off. Explosions get bigger, car chases and fight scenes get longer and the sitting time extends beyond two hours. As a kid, I loved the series starring Adam West. As an adult, I’m far from a Batman movie junkie. I don’t remember the early movies beyond knowing that Batman was played by Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney. I liked Batman Begins. It gave the Hollywood Batman a new edge and deeper history.

Gotham has a new hero, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), a good guy district attorney dubbed The White Knight. He’s kicking ass and taking names with clean hands. He could be the man who helps Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale) end his days as crime fighter. If that happens, he can enter into a romance with childhood friend Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal), but the Joker (an unrecognizable Heath Ledger), a madman with an uncanny psychological sniffer, figures out the caped crusader’s weak spot. The Joker is unrelenting in his manipulative demand that Batman reveal his identity or he the Joker will produce a body count. Can good prevail over evil?

The weak, convoluted plot has the Joker scamming the mob. Soon, he’s got the mob working with him to bring down Batman. A lot happens and the story is bloated. After 150 minutes, your bladder is strained and your derrière is sore. You want those extra minutes to leave you shocked and wanting more, not wondering WHY?

You cannot discuss this movie without mentioning Heath Ledger. His performance was among the last before his death and he’s brilliant! His voice is unrecognizable, his makeup is mental and that compulsive licking is gross. If Hollywood didn’t tell you it was him, you may not have identified Ledger. His scenes vis-à-vis Batman are among the movie’s best. He’s nauseously intoxicating.

Co-writer/Director: Christopher Nolan

Country: US

Genre: Drama

Run time: 152 minutes

Scale: 3.5

Jerichow (2008)

After Christian Petzold’s impressive last offering Yella (2007) and Brian’s staggering recommendation, I checked out Jerichow.

Three compellingly peculiar characters round out the story. Thomas (Benno Fürmann) is an ex-soldier who assists Ali (Hilmi Sözer) after an auto accident. Ali hires Thomas as his driver. Ali has several drunk-driving incidents and his license is suspended. To keep his snack bars operating, he must visit them daily and collect his cut.

Thomas meets Ali’s wife Laura (Nina Hoss). Sparks fly and an affair begins. The affair is conducted so riskily close to Ali that it begs the question, does Ali know? Has he set them up? Are Laura and Ali in collusion? Thomas’s and Ali’s friendship deepens as seemingly does Ali’s trust in Thomas.

(Spoiler Alert: Read at Your Own Risk!)

I couldn’t trust Laura’s motives. It was difficult to believe that she wasn’t going to turn. She was so guarded for so long that I was suspicious. In the end, the movie saddens. Turns out Ali has an ulterior motive but entirely different than what I’d expected. This movie carefully builds suspense as it takes its time telling its tale of loss of innocence.

Writer/Director: Christian Petzold

Country: Germany

Genre: Drama

Run time: 92 minutes

Scale: 4

Bad Santa (2003)

Before seeing Bad Santa, the reaction of those “in the know” was usually something like this: “That’s a great movie…it’s so wrong.” With these consistent reactions, how could I not be curious?

Bad Santa is twisted, raunchy and hilarious. Conman Willie (Billy Bob Thornton), a mall Santa partners with con elf Marcus (Tony Cox) to gain entry to stores and rob them. Problem is that Santa is a foul-mouthed alcoholic kid-hater who often wets himself in costume. Marcus is tiring of Willie’s misbehaving and jeopardizing their scheme.

Mall manager Bob (John Ritter) gets wind of Santa’s debauchery and consults with security manager Gin (Bernie Mac), who takes on Santa and Willy himself for a cut of the action. That, or he’ll turn in the cons, who have a history of mall thieving.

Then, there’s The Kid (Brett Kelly) who seems oblivious to this Bizarro-world Santa’s dark ways and helps him out of several jams. There’s also the waitress, Sue (Lauren Graham), who gets off on Santa. The soundtrack of classical music works surprising well in the background during the acts of tomfoolery.

Did I love this movie? No. Is it enjoyable? YES. I especially relished the social commentary on the holiday season and how it brings out the worst in people. Disturbed minds will love it. You’ll never forget the 3Bs.

Director: Terry Zwigoff

Country: US

Genre: Comedy

Run time: 90 minutes

Scale: 3