Paris, je t'aime

Paris, I love you. Movie, you are wonderful too. Back in 2006 Tristan Carné got the idea to combine stories from a variety of talents to show what a great city means to a variety of people. Paris was first on the list. New York came later in 2009. We'll soon see Shanghai and Jerusalem and I hear Rio is in development.

There were so many great names in this I will list only the ones American audiences will be most familiar. Apologies to my many French readers. here are a few reasons to watch this movie:

Steve Buscemi in a subway scene many of us have dreamed of or feared.

Miranda Richardson in a hot red trench coat.

Juliette Binoche who finds a cowboy (Willem Dafoe) to look after her son.

Nick Nolte surprises everyone.

Maggie Gyllenhaal, Bob Hoskins, and Elijah Wood in 3 very odd relationships.

Olga Kurylenko as a very hot vampire.

Natalie Portman best sees Paris though the eyes of a blind man.

Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara show us how exs should get along.

Rufus Sewell and Emily Mortimer get a little help learning to laugh together.

There are truly too many other great performances to list here. Be patient and watch all the stories. The point is that everyone we see has an interesting story. And, from time to time our story lines cross.

Watch this with someone who has been to Paris and will delight in seeing it again.

Crazy Heart

So many things going on during this movie, taken separately are very good, but together make a memorable movie. The story is not exactly new. Producer and co-star Robert Duvall played a similar character with somewhat similar results a few years ago. This effort is much better.

Here are some things I'm crazy about when it comes to this movie:

The music - well deserving of the Oscar.
The acting - Jeff Bridges certainly earned his too, and Maggie Gyllenhaal deserved her nomination.
The story - good things CAN happen to bad people.
The scenes - what can I say, I like dives.
The unexpected things - like the humble abode our fading country star calls home in Houston.
The photography - this movie makes the dreariest places look pretty good.

Watch this movie with someone who can enjoy all the verses.

The Dark Knight

If you have seen this you will know what I'm talking about. If you have not seen it I highly suggest you see it at least twice. The first time you watch just let the ride happen. You may be totally emotionally exhausted by the end of this 2.5 hour epic. The second time you watch it do so for the nuances. Relish the smart script. Savor the more than Oscar-worthy performance of the late Heath Ledger. Get into the sub-plots and subtle messages. It is easy to miss them the first time through because there is so much happening so fast you need to see it twice, at least, to take the full measure of this movie in.

This is hands down the best comic-based action thriller movie out thus far. And it sets the bar very high. This is what big budget movies are supposed to look and feel like. This movie would still be great without Batman. If, instead of Batman, you plug in a very tough, very smart, cop or vigilante, or even a very rich crime solver, it would still work. That is because the movie is not about Batman. The movie is about the criminals. This is so brilliant it has evaded most the watching public.

Don't get me wrong, Christian Bale does a brilliant job as the Caped Crusader. I shows a full range of emotions and is more human than some of the other guys have been. He is truly heroic.

Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman reprise their roles in support of Bruce Wayne. Each is a very welcome, smart, and funny addition to the story. Maggie Gyllenhaal is also back and the love interest, but with a huge interesting twist.

Other welcome faces include Aaron Eckhart and Gary Oldman.

But the true star of this movie; the one who carries the entire story on his shoulders with delicious flare is Ledger's Joker. Nothing like Nicholson's over-the-top masterwork of 20 years ago. This Joker is much more real, much creepier, much more sinister, and much more macabre. His character study is so perfectly psychotic one might wonder who he used for inspiration.

Watch this movie with someone who can help you keep up with what's going on.

Criminal

If you didn't see this movie in the theaters, I don't blame you. It was out at a time when some other very interesting things were playing. It was not a blockbuster, but that is more a critique of the average viewing public and less a comment on the film itself.

Writer and Director Gregory Jacobs score big in his first outing. He has however many impressive credits under his belt as assistant director. It is obvious he has been to school with some of the greats he has worked with. Kudos Mr. Jacobs. Keep 'em coming.

Some have said this is simply a contemporized version of my favorite movie, The Sting. If you have not seen that one either, do so soon. Don't wait for it to get a review here. There are several significant differences between The Sting, and Criminal. Star power alone sets them apart. Yes, they both let you think you know who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. But in Criminal you may not like any of the main characters. In the Sting, there are a couple of lovable characters. If I explain any more of the differences it'll spoil one movie or the other. See them both and judge for yourself.

John C. Reilly (Days of Thunder AND Talladega Nights, Hoffa AND Gangs of New York, Tenacious D AND Chicago) does it all. Drama, comedy, musical, serious, big rolls and small. He is wonderful. In this story however is the guy you'll most likely love to hate. A con's con, he helps a younger criminal pull off a bait and switch of a lifetime.

Diego Luna (Open Range, The Terminal, and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights) is the young con who seeks out Reilly's character for mentoring. Who is teaching whom what?

Maggie Gyllenhaal (Secretary, Mona Lisa Smile, and Monster House) comes in later in the movie, but figures hugely in the story. That about all I can say. She does a fun job her and I look forward to seeing her more often in good stories.

As with most other films based in and filmed on location in LA generally, and Beverly Hills specifically, there are a wide range of odd, interesting, fun, and fantastic supporting characters. Oddly enough it was a scene from a totally different type of movie that I thought of at the end of this film.

If you remember the scene from "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" when the group of patients is being introduced as doctor this and professor that as they prepare for a fishing expedition, then you'll have a glimpse into how this movie ends. There, I've spoiled it.

Watch this movie with someone who is a bad liar.