Nobel Son

Like smart movies? Like fast editing set to perfect music? You may just enjoy this one.

Like totally reprehensible "bad guy" characters? Alan Richman excels at playing the guy we love to hate. Think about it; ever since Die Hard he has played the detestable bad guy who "gets it" in the end. I have a hard time seeing him any other way, but he came close in Bottle Shock - sort of.

Actually everyone in this movie plays their role well. Danny Devito puts in my favorite performance of his since Throw Momma From The Train. What is a "reformed obsessive compulsive" anyway?

Bryan Greenberg plays the title role of a the son of a Nobel Laureate who is kidnapped in the weirdest chain of events I've seen in a movie since The Inside Man. This story is so well told I"m still not sure of some of the "facts" in this story. Where does this story really begin? Who sets whom up?

I loved Shawn Hatosy as the villain here. Was he or wasn't he crazy? You decide.

And if any of you guys out there have Mary-Steenburgen-with-a-hand-gun fantasies, this movie will be a good fix. Hands down, that is my favorite scene of the movie. Wait for it. Savor it.

The only real odd man out in this cast is Bill Pullman as the detective. Don't get me wrong I like Bill Pullman, but I had to force myself to believe his character. Colombo he ain't.

Finally I have to give a little love to Eliza Dushku. I would totally fall for this character. Eliza honey, you got game.

Watch this movie with someone who likes guessing whats going to happen next, and then watch their face when the plot twists.

Bottle Shock

Here is another installment in a fun list of films introducing the rest of the world to a part of California many know very little about. The Napa Valley is only about an hour north of San Francisco, and is now well known for it's wine. But that was not always the case. This movie is about how that all got started, and many are surprise that is was not all that long ago.

Alan Rickman does a superb job playing a wine snob. He nails it. A Brit wine snob kept out of the inner circle of the then-dominant French wine industry hears that rowdy, upstart, Californians claim they have made wines as good as, if not better than, anything in France.

A contest during the American Bicentennial in 1976 is organized as a result. The now infamous "Judgment of Paris" is re-enacted as part of the film. Beautiful.

Bill Pullman and Chris Pine (the newest Capt. Kirk) play the father and son team who fought each other AND the French. They pull it off so well one might think they really are related. I wonder who they took notes from?

Freddy Rodríguez may not be the biggest star of the film but he is certainly the soul, the conscience, and the heart of the story. I've enjoyed everything thing young actor has done and I always look forward to seeing his work.

If you consider yourself a wine aficionado or just a enthusiastic amateur, you should enjoy this movie. But even if you know nothing about wine, like me, you can still catch even the finer points of the story.

Watch this movie with someone who knows thinks they know everything about Napa Valley.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

With 3 Oscar nominations and 1 win, you'd think I might like this movie better. With the likes of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Alan Rickman, all of whom I usually love, you'd think I find some pleasure in the acting. Toss in Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat himself, and you'd think the comic relief impact would be good enough to lighten even Tim Burton's darkest vision. Not so in any of the cases above.

I found the story without any redeeming value. I found the acting so over-the-top that I was not sure when to laugh and when to cry. It was easy enough to know when to look away. Okay, so this exposes me as a horror film wimp. I don't see the point, and freely admit it. I do love a thriller, and this was far more the thriller than horror story. But as a thriller, it was to predictable.

Even if you don't read the DVD jacket, it becomes obvious what the barber will do, and how he will dispose to the bodies. Even if you have not seen the Broadway production, you should figure out fairly soon who proves to be the barber's undoing.

Please don't get me wrong, I did not dislike ALL the movie. The music was great. Stephen Sondheim is wonderful. From West Side Story to this, he has proven the master of setting complex dialogue set to music.

Having said ALL this, let me add some caveats. If you usually like Tim Burton's work, you will most likely "get" this movie. You may even love it.

I suggest watch it with someone who gets, or even loves, you.