Keeping Mum
Capote
Underworld: evolution
Keeping Mum
"Keeping Mum" can be a messy movie, but the central story about a loveable sociopathic grandmother who kills relentlessly for the good cause of keeping a troubled family together has some definite fun to it. We're in a small British town, where the only thing that seems to keep the decent citizenry from brutally strangling the infuriatingly annoying neighbor is good-old English politeness. It's too bad several jokes, even if they might seem fail-safe, fall miserably to the ground due to bad pacing and timing. "Keeping Mum" pulls through even if its often faulty execution keeps threatening to ruin everything over and over again. Still, its cast of brilliant and confident British actors manages to keep this bizarre comedy together.
1/2 ( Julie Vinten )
There is something pleasantly endearing and old-fashioned about this English comedy of murder most foul. Maggie Smith is delightful as Grace, a homicidal old woman who becomes a housekeeper for Gloria (Kristin-Scott Thomas) and her vicar husband (Rowan Atkinson). It's as twee as the local villager's tweed jackets, but it's also ever so slightly subversive in its way. Atkinson plays his part with admirable restraint, while Thomas is truly touching as the flustered and frustrated wife and mother. But the show really belongs to Smith. She relishes her role as the Ealing-style granny who can't see anything wrong with killing whoever gets in the way of her idea of a happy home. It should have been even a shade darker but it's still tremendous fun.
( Tim Ochser )
Capote
Director Bennett Miller hits the mark with his first feature, an intelligent drama about American author/raconteur Truman Capote. "Capote" is a beautiful movie, technically strong as well as emotionally well-tuned. Philip Seymour Hoffman, as superb a character actor as anyone, delivers a spot-on performance, capturing the haunted writer with breathtaking intensity. "Capote" is more compelling and has a far better narrative structure than, let's say, another recent biopic, "Walk the Line," which deals with another troubled American icon, Johnny Cash. "Capote" captures the six years it took its subject to write his near-perfect non-fiction novel "In Cold Blood." That relatively short time period is endlessly defining for his character and we get to know him far more intimately than in the half-lifetime worth of coverage Cash receives in "Walk the Line." This feature has a truly rare profundity that stays with you long after it's over.
3/4 ( Julie Vinten )
"Capote" is one of the most outstanding American films of the last few years. Philip Seymour Hoffman is staggeringly good as the flamboyant writer Truman Capote. You can only stare in disbelief at the sheer brilliance and subtlety of his portrayal of this complex and rather pathetic character. The film focuses on Capote's writing of "In Cold Blood," a groundbreaking book which explored the brutal murder of a Kansas family in the 1950s. But it's really about Capote himself and his blurring of fact and fiction in his own troubled life. The drawn-out end torturously reflects the dilemma Capote went through while he awaited the murderers' execution so that he could finally finish his book. "Capote" touches on many intriguing issues, not least of which is our disturbing obsession with "real life" horror stories.
( Tim Ochser )
Underworld: evolution
There is some fun to be had with the second installment of the popular vampire/werewolf tale, as long as you first manage to thoroughly switch off your brain. "Underworld: Evolution" takes itself too seriously for its own good and adding a sack of money to the budget hasn't made it any better than its predecessor. The effects and action sequences are bigger and grander, but the narrative is the same old silliness. That said, the finale action sequence was a blast. Perhaps it was because of the maddening tempo of the fights and the helicopter-falling'sfrom-the-sky bit. Perhaps it was because at that point, it was pretty obvious that this sequel (why must they keep making sequals to these things?) was finally 's finally! 's coming to end.
( Julie Vinten )
"Underworld: Evolution" picks up where "Underworld" left off, so it might not make much sense if you haven't seen the first part. But then how much sense can you seriously expect from a film about an ancient feud between werewolves and vampires? It's gorier and cheesier than the original but thoroughly enjoyable in its silly way. Kate Beckinsale once again squeezes into her PVC outfit to play Selene, a vampire who goes about killing werewolves, until she discovers that her own kind have been up to no good, forcing her to start killing them instead. The story is so ludicrous that you needn't bother listening to the dialogue. Just sit back and watch all the salivating werewolves and snarling vampires go at each other tooth and nail. But the bloodshed has to stop here.
1/2 ( Tim Ochser )
