War, Inc.

There is an awful lot to NOT like about this movie. But when added all up they still don't equal a bad movie. This is political satire in a very high form. No doubt in many countries this sort of thing would be banned or outlawed, and the makers flogged and banished. But, this is America and we hold some truths to be self-evident. One of those is the right of fools and scholars alike to to behave badly in the name of art.

Stepping down from MY soapbox now, let me address the soapbox that is this film. If you are from a "red state" you may not like this movie much. If you voted for Bush or McCain, you probably won't like it either. If however, you can accept and digest some very sharp barbs pointed at the current, and soon to be future, administration's perceived policies and relationships, you may have a very good time watching it.

Here are a few of the minor things I didn't like about the movie:
John Cusack in an action, tough-guy role
Ben Kingsley with a strong southern accent
Joan Cusack as herself (yes editorial liberties taken here)
American soldiers portrayed as confused and addicted, trigger-happy idiots

Here are a few things that make those other things insignificant:
Marisa Tomei - full stop - enough said
Hillary Duff as the exploited pop-singer who I didn't even recognize
Joan Cusak as herself (yes, this counts twice because she is so funny)
The soundtrack is diverse and wonderful

Add to the above items that I truly enjoy good satire even about things I hold dear. Some say it is the lowest form of comedy. Maybe that's true, but I laughed plenty in this movie.

Watch it with someone who gets whats right and wrong about this movie.

Map of the Human Heart

This may be one of the strangest movies I've ever seen, but it is also one of the most satisfying. Director Vincent Ward (What Dreams May Come) has a knack for presenting stories in a unique way. Some people like that, and some don't.

Jason Scott Lee (Jungle Book and Lilo & Stitch) plays in Inuit with a gift for navigation. This finds him favor with a mapmaker and with the US Air Force during World War II. While all this is going on, Lee's character has a running competitive love affair with a girl he meets in a tuberculosis hospital.

Anne Parillaud (Little Nikita and Man In The Iron Mask) plays the girl who deals with attentions from both Lee's character and the mapmaker who brings him to the hospital, played by John Cusack.

What keeps love alive over the years and across the many miles? Do migratory birds need a map to return to the same nesting grounds thousands of miles from their summer homes? Do our hearts know why they feel what they do? Who knows? This movie provides no answers. But, it is a very fun, quirky, love story.

Be prepared for the unexpected and improbable. But Director Ward makes it work. It is difficult to not root for Lee's character regardless of how much you may or may not like him.

Watch this movie with someone who likes maps.

The Martian Child

In what should be required viewing for every parent, Director Menno Meyjes keeps us wondering just what is pretending, and what is reality. If you ever felt like an outsider at school, you will relate to at least one of the characters in this movie. If you are a parent of such a child, this movie will touch you deeper than anything you've seen since Lorenzo's Oil.

John Cusack (Sixteen Candles, Eight Men Out, and Serendipity) breaks out of his "Brat Pack" persona and becomes a real person with real emotions. As a widower, he is properly vulnerable and lonely. He decides to consider something he and his late wife has started to do, adopt.

Relative new-comer Bobby Coleman does a fantastic job playing the little boy who claims to be from Mars. What we don't know is if he really is, ala K-Pax, or if he is pretending. You'll not find out here.

The supporting cast is very good. Joan Cusack (Working Girl, My Blue Heaven, and too many others to pick from) plays, what else, John's sister. Amanda Peet (this is the first thing she has done since her Seinfeld appearances that I really liked) plays Cusack's gardener/friend. The sexual tention is obvious, but it is only once addressed on screen, and that is perfectly timed.

The sound-track is superb and you may want to add it to your collection. It is not however constantly in your face. It comes and goes and helps tell the story with lyrics in support of the scene.

While this movie is a little on the sappy side at the end, it is not over-done, and you probably won't mind. Watch it with someone who is unique.