This week:
I Love Huckabees
Sideways
Happy End
***** Excellent. Don't miss it!
**** Very good. See it!
*** Good. It's up to you.
** Average. Nothing special.
* Waste of time. Forget it.
I Love Huckabees
Director: David O. Russell
David O. Russell ("Three Kings") is one wacky director, and this is one wacky movie. "I Heart Huckabees" is a hectic and whimsical philosophical comedy 's chaotic, but not without direction. It's also wonderfully energetic and has some very fresh and inspiring storytelling. Not to mention that it's constantly entertaining and very funny indeed 's sometimes even outright hilarious. The team of excellent, well-known actors has truly taken the far-out script, dialogue and characters to their hearts. They totally let themselves go as their characters manically pursue the true meaning of existence. This is a movie, which discusses deep existential and philosophical issues, but is pleasantly free of intellectual self-absorbedness. "I Heart Huckabees" might not be perfect, but you can't blame anyone involved for not giving it all they've got. **** (Julie Vinten)
New Yorker David O. Russell ("Three Kings") delivers some philosophical mumbo-jumbo using a bit of art and a sense of humor. Getting off to a deliberate and uneasy start, "I ? Huckabees" accelerates in stages, like a rocket, leading to some amazingly positive wonders in the advancement of quirkiness. Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzman) finds himself in the midst of a profound life crisis. He has had one too many coincidences occur and hires Jaffe & Jaffe (Lily Tomlin and Dustin Hoffman), existential detectives, to find out who he really is. Tomlin and Hoffman are sensational, as are Naomi Watts and Jude Law, speaking with a respectable American accent. However, it's 33-year-old Mark Wahlberg's powerful, scene-stealing performance, which proves beyond a doubt that the universe really is expanding. *** ¾ (Laimons Juris G)
Sideways
Director: Alexander payne
Films as intelligent, touching and altogether wonderful as this one don't come around often. It's a joy watching this simple movie that has so very much to give. "Sideways" is a rich tale about life, middle-aged crises, friendship, love 's and wine. It's an altogether profound, funny and completely unpretentious piece, which isn't afraid of its own simplicity. Alexander Payne, who directed such great movies as "Election" and "About Schmidt," is excellent at character study. He effortlessly makes us care deeply for the two deeply flawed main characters. More or less every aspect of this movie somehow hits its mark. This is brilliant storytelling, spot-on pacing, great casting and superb acting. "Sideways," a Golden Globe-winner for best screenplay and best comedy, is nothing that it shouldn't be and everything that it should. ***** (Julie Vinten)
One week before Jack (Thomas Haden Church) gets married, his best buddy Miles (Paul Giamatti) has planned a special tour through some picturesque California wine country. Giamatti manages to astound as a divorced English teacher who yearns to be a novelist. Miles is a knowledgeable wine enthusiast, expounding eloquently on the preferable qualities of Pinot before he gets completely plastered. Church, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Arnold Schwarzenegger (without the muscles), is ideal as the womanizing Jack. He's after one more fling before marrying a wealthy socialite. This funny, melancholy comedy is a stunning slice of life from Nebraska-born director Alexander Payne ("About Schmidt"). It's all about success, failure, relationships and the simple joy of living. "Sideways" is definitely one of the best entertainments in any year. **** 1/2 (Laimons Juris G)
Happy End
Director: Amos Kollek
French actress Audrey Tautou ("Amelie") is a wonderfully gifted, sweet and beautiful actress. She is also the only thing that makes this comedy at all watchable. Val (Tautou) has come to New York to fulfill her dream of becoming an actress. She spends her days working odd jobs and going to auditions. Her nights are spent in a sleeping bag in the garden of a screenwriter who suffers from writer's block. However, inspired by her whimsical charm and straightforward attitude to life, he begins writing a screenplay about her. "Happy End" is a foolish, boring and incoherent comedy with an endlessly clumsy narrative. The movie is a little nod to "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and Audrey Tautou is a match for Audrey Hepburn, but "Happy End" is helplessly inferior to the classic. * ½ (Julie Vinten)
There is a certain something in this odd little film that makes you want to like it. However, that's not always easy to do in this mixed-up potpourri of soaring ecstatic ups and drastically flubbed downs. The energetic and likable Audrey Tautou does her very best to liven things up as a dipsy French girl who has somehow made it to New York City. She wants to be an actress. But even Tautou can't salvage this mess. The supporting cast is talented but standout with their uneven performances. Justin Theroux in the leading male role seems to be acting in a completely different movie, while Jennifer Tilly comes across as a flaky embarrassment. Amos Kollek, the son of the longtime mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy, wrote and directed the ridiculous script. * ¾ (Laimons Juris G)
