The Stoning of Soraya M.

It's 1986 in Iran. A fake Mullah, a crooked Mayor, and a rotten husband conspire to convict an innocent woman of adultery. A crime punishable by death - by stoning. Only the woman's aunt defends her amongst the madness. This movie is about woman's rights, injustice, and the power of the press.

Shohreh Aghdasho plays the aunt with so much emotion it is difficult to not feel her anguish. Brilliant. Mozhan Marnò plays the young victim with equal conviction. her final scene is very difficult to watch.

Spoken in Persian with English subtitles and some English, this is a movie to read. The photography is spectacular and their use of color is inspired. The music is appropriately haunting. It is amazing to me that this movie was allowed to be made in Iran with so much local talent and cooperation.

Expect to be moved to tears by this movie at least once, infuriated at other times, and disgusted at yet other times.

Watch this movie with a confirmed chauvinist of the male variety and see what "true colors" they display.

Séraphine

Like any good tragedy this story is filled with mirth, suspense, and heartbreak. Because it's based on real events we know how is ends. But like many other biopics this movie gives us a taste of lives and events leading up to what we already know.

If you have never heard of Séraphine of Senlis, and I'm guessing most of us have not, this story will enlighten you. Séraphine Louis was a hard-working resident of Senlis, France during the last half of the 1800s and first half of the 1900s. As one biographer put it she was a religious fanatic who walked a tightrope between ecstasy and mental illness. In the end, the illness consumed her.

She is played brilliantly by Yolande Moreau. Her sole Patron during her life was Wilhelm Unde played here by Ulrich Tukur. Were it not for him Séraphine's work would most likely never have been seen.

In French and German with English subtitles this movie actually has less dialogue than one might expect. The scenery is wonderful, the colors are fitting a movie about art and artists.

Watch this movie with someone who suffers for their art.

Disturbia

Suburbia = Disturbia This movie is almost a mix of Hitchcock's Rear Window and Tom Hank's The Burbs. Almost. It is funny at times, creepy at other times, and suspenseful every now and then.

Shia LaBeouf plays a teen under house arrest during a summer for slugging a school teacher. His boredom leads him to start paying attention to the behavior of neighbors, especially a cute teen girl next door played by Sarah Roemer.

David Morse plays the creepy neighbor and Carrie-Anne Moss plays the stressed-out Mom. Comic relief is ever-present with a best friend in the form of Aaron Yoo.

This is a fairly fast-paced story with a few good unexpected twists. The photography and music help make this story more fun to watch.

Watch this with people who fancy themselves the next Nancy Drew or Hardy Boy.

Public Enemies

If you can ignore the factual and continuity problems with the movie, it is a great ride. If that sort of thing bugs you - reconsider.

Johnny Depp is excellent as the legendary, much "beloved", bank robber John Dillinger. During the Great Depression Dillinger was the terror of Midwest banks and police departments. When the predecessor of the FBI gets involved, J. Edgar Hoover, played smartly by Billy Crudup, turns up the heat with scientific and method. Christian Bale is the tormented Special Agent in charge of the Chicago office tasked with catching Dillinger.

Marion Cotillard and Branka Katic play the lovely women in Dillinger's life.

This highly fictionalized tale of cops and robbers in the 1930s is fast-moving and quite suspenseful. Though the characters are all based on real people the events are less than verifiable. Don't worry though, unless you are a good student of this period of time you won't notice.

Watch this movie with lots of popcorn and all the moxie you can muster.

The Hangover

Some people just can't handle Vegas? Some people just can't handle this movie. I can see this being very popular with people who have never actually been to Vegas, or done something recklessly stupid, or lost money in Vegas.

This is however a very clever story and there are some funny moments. There are also some large plot gaps and many of us are asked to suspend belief a bit too much. It is pretty much just a huge commercial for "What Happens in Vegas - Stays in Vegas".

Zach Galifianakis is the real star here. His character is the most amusing and most consistent. Disturbing, but funny. Ed Helms provides a great counter-weight character-wise for this group. Everyone else pretty much just phoned it in except for the cameos by Mike Tyson, Ken Jeong, and Mike Epps.

Watch this, if you are curious, with someone who has never actually been to Vegas and harbors the fantasy that most, if any of this, could actually happen to anyone without much more serious consequences. What? I'm just saying.....

Tom Horn

1980 was a year full of some very impressive movies. Empire Strikes Back. Ordinary People. Airplane. Coal Miner's Daughter. Raging Bull. So it is no wonder that this low-budget little cowboy movie was overlooked at award time and largely at the box office.

It was also Steve McQueen's last good movie and the last before he was diagnosed with cancer. He plays a hired gun, Tom Horn, brought in by ranchers to eliminate rustlers. He is so effective however that the ethics of the project eventually comes into question by townsfolk. Another hired gun is brought in to eliminate McQueen.

When an innocent young cowboy is gunned down under questionable circumstances, Horn is put on trial for the murder. This is a slow-moving story full of character development and thoughtful dialogue.

Richard Farnsworth plays one of the ranchers and Horn's only real friend. When I think of Arizona cowboys, Farnsworth is still the face I see, and the voice I hear.

Tom Horn is a very controversial figure in Wyoming history. Most folks are either for or against his methods as the legendary "Stock Detective" at the turn of the last century. The actual rifle he used sits in the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.

If you like old school westerns, where what the cowboys said was as interesting as what they did, you should like this movie.

Watch this one with someone who is not familiar with McQueen's work and see what they think of this big screen legend.

Waking Ned Devine (1998)

This is my favorite Irish movie. So, for St. Patrick's Day I honor the winner of the 1998 New York Comedy Festival Best Picture award.

Any fan of big or small screen productions from "across the pond" will recognize many faces. Jackie O'Shea plays a good friend of a man who dies of the shock of winning the lottery. Michael O'Sullivan plays the other friend who conspires to trick the lottery people into paying out the prize. Annie O'Shea plays her husband's wife and co-conspirator.

This film is full of Irish humor, wisdom, and music. Absolutely brilliant. Don't let the scenery fool you however. This was shot entirely on the Isle of Man which sits in the Irish Sea but "belongs" to the United Kingdom.

If you have not seen it yet, please watch it soon if not for St. Patrick's Day. If you HAVE seen this before please watch it again with a mind towards your own friendships. Does your posse ride this tight? Most don't. Take a look at your community, regardless of how you define it. Could you pull this off? If not, and I daresay few of us could, we need to get to work improving our relationships with those around us who are incidental to our daily lives. The IS the point of this story.

Watch this with someone who wishes they lived in a bigger town or city.

Up in the Air

This is a story about connections. Or, to be more precise, disconnects. None of the characters are repulsive, and yet none are very cuddly. I'm sure that is by design.

It is however, a good story - well told. That would explain all the nominations and awards.

George Clooney plays a guy who spends his life in airports, airplanes, and hotels. He has a goal of racking up 10 million air miles. All his relationships are either long-distance or very short-lived.

Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick play two women in his life for the duration of the story.

We watch as the anti-relationship guy evolves, and some might say, revolves, from isolation to something approaching connections, and back again.

While there were some funny bits along the way this should not be considered a comedy. Maybe a dramedy at most.

Watch this with someone who is happy with their status quo.

Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

This sequel was perfectly set up. Making it work was, in the brilliant words of a new cast member, "not really rocket surgery". As a rule of thumb sequels suck in my opinion. This one does not. In fact, I think they took the best parts of the first all the way to the bank this time.

After 10 years of real time (8 years screen time) the boys are back in Boston and gunning for a group of bad guys. The new characters, played wonderfully by Clifton Collins Jr. and Julie Benz, add new layers of funny. As off the hook as Willem Defoe's character was, these too are even better and fit into the story perfectly.

Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus are back and randy as ever. They are at their best when fighting each other, bumbling through jobs, making friends and influencing people.

The story goes from silly to sublime amongst some very sloppy editing, but otherwise it's a fun ride.

Watch this with someone who has seen the first or it won't make sense to them.

Okuribito (Departures)

If the beautiful music and scenery of this movie do not make you weep, I expect the touching story will. Spoken in Japanese with English subtitles, this story is not only about, of course, departures, but also reunions. Departed loved ones both permanent and temporary. Dealing with separation. Forgiving and reuniting. These are all covered so well one might forget lessons are being taught.

Masahiro Motoki is both hilarious and circumspect in this role of evolution.

A year ago this movie won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and just about every meaningful award given by the Japanese version of the Academy. All well-deserved.

If you don't like subtitles, or if you don't like to see the portrayal of dead people, or if you don't like tear-jerkers, you may want to pass on this movie. On the other hand, if you like a movie that is beautiful in every way...

Watch this with someone who appreciates good cello music.

Law Abiding Citizen

Can you have a movie with no good guys? Can a story about "good versus evil" work when there is little or no "good"? Does "evil versus different evil" work? My answer is yes, it can, but it's not easy to pull of well. This movie comes pretty close.

Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx square off against each other intellectually and legally in this story of vengeance and justice. At least that is how one side sees it. Butler plays a very smart contract killer who watches as the justice system in Philadelphia lets the killer of his family walk. He plans his attack on the system for 10 years.

For the most part the whole thing is very plausible but some of the specific details are sometimes sketchy. If you can suspend belief for a little while this is a very interesting story.

Watch this movie with someone who might like to see the justice system get a black eye.