Searching for Sugar Man - 3 smiles

“Searching for Sugar Man” is a winning musical detective story about a forgotten early 70s rocker who became a huge hit in South Africa while no one in America has heard of him. Swedish director Malik Bendjelloul’s English-language documentary is both intriguing and uplifting. The artist simply known as Rodriguez was an enigma even before being ‘discovered’ in the late 60s by some of music industry people. Those who’d noticed his occasional gigs in his native Detroit wondered if the elusive musician was a homeless drifter. Signed to former Motown Records chairman Clarence Avant’s Sussex label, he released two albums through A&M in 1971 and 1972. Despite high hopes and good reviews that compared him to Bob Dylan, both albums drew no notice and the singer-songwriter simply disappeared.

In South Africa, however, his songs somehow managed to find an audience before they even had a local distributor. Rodriguez’s hard-luck and rebellious lyrics about urban life, bolstered by appealing melodies and a distinctive voice, hit a chord with young liberal whites living under the thumb apartheid. Over the years, they sold an estimated 500,000 copies, an extraordinary number that made him ‘bigger than Elvis’ in the midsized nation. It was believed among South African fans that Rodriguez died tragically. Yet these rumors were entirely unsubstantiated and virtually nothing was known about him beyond cryptic hints found in the lyrics themselves. A couple of particularly obsessed types took it upon themselves to research further, setting up a website to obtain any additional info. Surprisingly, one of Rodriguez’s grown daughters stumbled upon the site and soon Rodriguez is put in touch with a worshipful public he never knew existed. Unfortunately, Bendjelloul is not able to find out what happened to Rodriguez’s music royalties. Nonetheless, Rodriguez accepts fame and adulation with Zen-like aplomb as he does several concerts in South Africa. “Searching for Sugar Man” is a hugely appealing documentary with Rodriguez’s own music providing the soundtrack. 7/29/12

Ruby Sparks - 3 smiles

“Ruby Sparks,” written by Zoe Kazan and starring Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan, takes a different approach to the romantic comedy formula. You take a little of Pygmalion and throw in a bit from Stranger Than Fiction and you have the premise for “Ruby Sparks.” But you never have the feeling that you’ve seen this story before. And Kazan explores not only what happens in a relationship when one person tries to control the other, but she also wants to know what truly will make us happy. Calvin Weir-Fields (Dano, Kazan’s real-life boyfriend) is a shy novelist whose first book brought him great acclaim but now he’s facing writer’s block. His therapist (Elliott Gould) asks him to write a one-page tale about his dog, hoping to re-ignite Calvin’s creative juices. Instead, Calvin creates the perfect woman, a red-haired artist named Ruby Sparks, which inspires Calvin to write. About a week after Calvin first conjures Ruby on the page, he finds the flesh-and-blood Ruby (Kazan) in his kitchen, cooking breakfast. He fears he’s lost his mind, but once he believes that Ruby is real, he’s all the more smitten. The vivacious Ruby brings out the best in the less than social Calvin. But though she seems like any other person, it seems that Calvin can change her at will with his written words.

On one level, this is a clever critique of modern romantic comedies where some free-spirit (Zooey Deschanel in (500) Days of Summer and Kiera Knightley in Seeking a Friend at the End of the World) exists largely to pull the sad-sack hero out of his funk. But on another, deeper level, it’s about our unwillingness to accept someone as he/she is. It’s about our fondness for falling in love with impossible ideals and then trying to change the people we do end up with. And when Calvin realizes that all he has to do is type a new sentence and Ruby will speak French or never want to leave his side, there’s an element of sadism to what he puts Ruby through. Paul Dano has played damaged men in movies before, but there’s such a nasty edge to Calvin that you think Ruby would be better off without him (and these portions of the movie are hard to watch). Kazan is consistently likable, deftly conveying her character’s emotional shifts, which grow worrisome as Calvin increasingly becomes the puppet master. Although the ending is a bit predictable, nonetheless “Ruby Sparks” is a creative romantic fable. 7/28/12

The Dark Knight Rises - 3 smiles

Although Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises” is complex and the characters multidimensional, it’s not as good as 2008’s The Dark Knight. The plot is occasionally murky, the arch villain lacks charismatic menace and the last hour is belabored. Eight years have elapsed since Gotham has seen the caped crusader. His alter ego, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), has become a recluse, wallowing in guilt and sorrow. He paid a high price for doing what he believed was in the best interest of his beloved city, but this assumes you saw the second Batman installment although Nolan does give you brief flashbacks.  Nonetheless, Wayne is drawn out of his self-imposed exile by hulking terrorist Bane (Tom Hardy), who is determined to liberate Gotham’s citizenry from the shackles of government. While this adds substance to the narrative, it also means a bunch of new characters. And this final chapter lacks the maniacal villainy of the late Heath Ledger’s Joker.

Bane is hampered by an elaborate black mask that covers most of his face with a mouthpiece that makes him look like Hannibal Lecter. This makes it almost impossible to understand much of what Bane says and it prevents Hardy from using his face to enhance his evil character. Thus, Hardy has to rely on his physical presence, becoming all brute force and making him more of a one-dimensional character. Bale continues to be superb as the tortured hero and his story has a poignant conclusion. The most moving scenes involve Wayne and his loyal butler, Alfred (Michael Caine). There’s welcome chemistry between Bale and Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle (Catwoman). Hathaway offers a fresh take on her character, less feline and more acrobatic and assertive. Less impressive is Marion Cotillard as the rather bland and underdeveloped environmental conservationist, Miranda Tate, which is a huge problem because she plays a key role in the film’s climax.  And the romance that develops between her and Wayne is utterly unbelievable. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is effective as dedicated police detective John Blake, a role that could figure into a potential spinoff. Wally Pfister’s cinematography is artfully gorgeous and Nolan skillfully juxtaposes sound and silence to heighten tension. However, Hans Simmer’s musical score sometimes interferes rather than enhances. Overall, “The Dark Knight Rises” is a satisfying conclusion to the Batman trilogy. 7/22/12

Ice Age: Continental Drift - 2 smiles

The fourth installment of the Ice Age movies featuring computer-generated prehistoric animals is lifeless and derivative. You would think that to keep this franchise going the filmmakers would want a more interesting story, but instead, they add a few new voices and merely modify the same old story. Maybe they figure children won’t care. Returning are Ray Romano as Manny, the wooly mammoth and his mate, Ellie (Queen Latifah). They are parents of rebellious teen Peaches (Keke Palmer). Also back is Sid, the bumbling sloth (John Leguizamo) and Diego, the sleek saber-toothed tiger (Denis Leary). The new voices include hip-hop stars Drake as a cool mammoth Peaches has a crush on and Nicki Minaj as one of Peaches’ airhead friends. Jennifer Lopez has an uninteresting role as Shira, a tiger who falls for Diego, but Wanda Sykes is mildly amusing as Sid’s grandmother. Peter Dinklage, as the monkey pirate captain, gives it his all, but his voice isn’t that interesting so he adds very little to the character or story.

Scrat, the squirrel-rat, focused on chasing the acorn, triggers a continental divide that spurs this adventure. From there, the story adds too many characters with an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink plot that drags in the birth of the continents, pirates, allusions to The Odyssey and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a silly chipmunk army and some Beethoven symphonies on the soundtrack. “Ice Age: Continental Drift” has a few chuckles, but for the most part, it’s not much fun. 7/20/12

The Magic of Belle Isle - 3 smiles

“The Magic of Belle Isle,” Rob Reiner’s heartfelt tribute to the imagination and the restorative powers of love, relies on old-fashioned storytelling. Although the setting is in the present, the small-town setting evokes stories from the 50s. The three daughters of Charlotte O’Neil (Virginia Madsen), a single mother in the process of divorcing her husband, may act up on occasion, but not very much. Willow (Madeline Carroll), an occasionally petulant but mostly good-humored teen; the tomboyish 9-year-old Finnegan (Emma Fuhrmann); and the baby sister, Flora (Nicolette Pierini), are a likable bunch and Charlotte is full of common sense, wisdom and compassion. Into this idyllic lakeside town comes Monte Wildhorn (Morgan Freeman), a bitter, grumpy, once-celebrated writer of western novels and a former minor league baseball player. Monte, who’s been in a wheelchair since a freak accident, moves in next door to the O’Neils for the summer. Monte plans to spend the summer drinking instead of writing. But as the season wears on and Monte becomes involved in the lives of his neighbors, he mellows.

Director Rob Reiner takes his time to develop his story in a way movies today hardly ever do. And the script appreciates a well-turned phrase. I especially enjoyed Monte’s conversations with Spot. (Ringo is the dog’s name, but Monte decides that since he’s dog sitting, he’s going to change the name to Spot.) Monte and Charlotte, who fall half in love, interact with a courtly dignity. Only at the end do they abandon the quaint formality of addressing each other as Mr. Wildhorn and Mrs. O’Neil. The magic of this movie emanates from the beautiful performances of its stars. Freeman’s Monte is given time to ruminate about writing and the powers of imagination, which he imparts of Finnegan, who becomes his eager protégée. He is also a mentor of sorts to a sweet, mentally disabled teenager from the neighborhood. Virginia Madsen, radiantly beautiful, conveys maternal devotion, undaunted courage and a serene sensuality. “The Magic of Belle Isle” never acknowledges race, age, class, or disabilities, but they’re there, lending a subtle flavor to this enjoyable story.  7/5/12

Ted - 2 smiles

“Ted’s” overly long 104 minutes, which include a kidnapping, a car chase, a segment to Tiffany’s ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ video and a Norah Jones concert, operate on the premise that the audience likes to watch a pot-smoking, foul-mouthed teddy bear. Unfortunately, if you’ve seen a Seth Rogan, Jonah Hill or Jason Segel movie, “Ted” is déjà vu all over again, except with a furry stuffed animal. This is a one-joke movie and it gets tiresome after a while. Mila Kunis is wasted although she and star Mark Wahlberg have effective chemistry and Giovanni Ribisi is down right creepy as the potential teddy bear-napper.

The movie begins in 1985 when lonely eight-year-old John Bennett wishes that his Christmas teddy bear could speak. A montage during the opening credits highlights three decades of their inseparable bond, including Ted’s celebration of his 20 minutes of fame on the Johnny Carson Show and the grown up John (Wahlberg) dating Lori (Kunis). John can barely get to his rental-car job on time and seems content to drift. Lori, however, demands that Ted move out of their shared Boston apartment so John will finally grow up. Ted and John might be separated, but Ted knows which buttons to push to get John to break a date with Lori with the promise of snorting coke with Sam Jones, Flash Gordon himself. When the high point of “Ted” is Wahlberg rattling off ‘white-trash girls’ names,’ you know you’re in trouble. 7/8/12

Beasts of the Southern Wild - 3 1/2 smiles

“Beasts of the Southern Wild,” directed by Benh Zeitlin who mixes magic and reality with a definite sense of place, is a challenging yet hugely rewarding film. Most memorable is Quvenzhané Wallis, a 6-year-old with no acting experience who is unforgettable as the film’s fierce young protagonist and narrator. Hushpuppy and her frequently drunk father Wink (Dwight Henry) live in adjoining, junk-filled shacks in a dilapidated Louisiana Delta community that’s been cut off from New Orleans – and the world – by an enormous levee. Wink, who knows he’s dying, has been trying to prepare Hushpuppy to survive on her own since her mother ‘swam away.’  According to Miss Bathsheba (Gina Montana), a teacher, medicine woman and mother to Hushpuppy, aurochs, prehistoric beasts, have been freed from their icy graves by man’s thoughtless actions. They serve as a harbinger of doom for Hushpuppy and Wink’s tiny community called The Bathtub, itself an allegorical stand-in for pre-Katrina New Orleans. Soon a flood swamps this impoverished but vibrant community, whose members float in beat-up boats waiting for the waters to recede, only to be herded into an emergency shelter when they do. At this point, Wink’s declining condition has forced Hushpuppy to take full charge, which she does in ways that are touching and inspiring.

Young Quvenzhané Wallis, chosen from 3,500 candidates to play the tiny heroine, is a marvel. Dwight Henry, owner of the Buttermilk Drop Bakery and Café in New Orleans, had to be convinced to take the role of Wink. Though inexperienced, he hits just the right notes as Hushpuppy’s gruff father. Another standout in the locally recruited cast of nonprofessional actors is Gina Montana. “Beasts of the Southern Wild” is an uplifting story of great humanism as it focuses on the tenacity of a group of people nearly undone by a powerful storm. 6/28/12

The Amazing Spiderman - 2 1/2 smiles

If you saw the original Spiderman, directed by Sam Raimi, then you know about the evolution of this story. If the been-there, seen-that aspect doesn’t bother you, then what this reboot has going for it is the performances of Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. At 28, Garfield is slightly older than Toby Maguire was when he played Peter Parker in 2002, but his fresh-faced innocence and wry humor is very appealing. Garfield’s Parker is still very much a boy. The prologue introduces him as a child, searching for the father he’s about to lose. Time switches to the present and we see he’s a good-hearted teen who isn’t prepared for the changes that sweep his body shortly after he’s been bitten by a genetically modified spider in the research lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), an old friend of his father’s. Soon Peter discovers he’s stronger and stickier and he’s made an impression on Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), Parker’s first girlfriend.

Director Marc Webb, whose last film was the sleeper hit (500) Days of Summer, has a deft hand with the relationship scenes and Garfield and Stone have great chemistry. Their dialogue scenes are light and effective. Too bad the action scenes seem redundant. But we do get a new villain in the semi-sympathetic Dr. Connors, whose research into the regenerative abilities of lizards causes him to dose himself with his recent formula. Unfortunately for him, the concoction turns him into a giant lizard-man and sets up the exciting climatic battle. However, a few plot lines are left hanging, perhaps for the next Spiderman movie. Nonetheless,  fi you don’t nind the feeling of déjà vu, “The Amazing Spiderman” is slickly entertaining and the CGI appropriately impressive. 6/3/12

Katy Perry: Part of Me - 3 smiles

I’m not really a Katy Perry fan; I hardly knew anything about her. That’s why I went to see “Katy Perry: All of Me,” a documentary directed by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, which follows the popular pop star on her 2011 California Dream world tour. In some respects it’s one big Katy Perry commercial, but she is so engaging and likable that it’s hard not to jump on her bandwagon. The film begins with a time-lapse montage of the crew building the stage in whatever arena she and the band are playing that night. And with Perry, her look is as important as her music, so her entourage includes costumers, makeup artists, etc. What’s interesting is that most of these people were with her before she became famous. Her loyalty to the people she’s known for a long time is a recurring theme in the film and certainly an admirable characteristic.

We see footage of her father, a Pentecostal minster, preaching, and learn from Perry and her sister that their upbringing was strictly religious. Perry began writing and singing Christian songs and made an album, but when she heard an Alanis Morissette album, she realized that there was more to the world and music so she left home at 17 and moved to Los Angeles. Various record companies recognized Perry’s talent, but they wanted to shape her into someone she wasn’t. When she resisted, she was dropped. We get a good sense of how hard she worked before anyone knew who she was. We see Russell Brand from time to time backstage and throughout the grueling tour. The disintegration of their relationship appears to happen suddenly. Perry’s manager says that she hid it well because everyone was surprised. We see Perry at her most vulnerable, but we also see her strength and resilience. We also see how much she values her fans and how much they love her. I still may not be a Katy Perry fan, but “Katy Perry: Part of Me” presents her as likable and hard working. 7/6/12

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - 2 smiles

When I read Seth Grahame-Smith’s novel, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, I wondered how he would adapt it into a screenplay. The book is essentially a biography on Lincoln with some of the facts emphasized to align with the vampire story. I figured he would have to toss the biography and focus on the vampire element, which he did. He also added a few new characters and rewrote the climax. Nonetheless, he takes gross liberties with established historical personalities and events. The first half of the movie, which follows Lincoln’s early career as a politician and vampire hunter, is the film’s strongest segment.  Lincoln has a grudge against vampires for killing his mother. (Historically, she dies of an unknown illness.) His attempts to eliminate her murderer, Jack Barts (Marton Csokas, leads him to Henry Sturgess (Dominic Cooper), veteran vampire hunter. Lincoln becomes his apprentice. He then moves to Springfield, where he enters politics, romances Mary Todd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and kills vampires.

Things get muddled after this as the script condenses events. Lincoln quickly becomes president and the Civil War looms. Apparently, the Civil War is all about slaves being used as a plentiful source of food for vampires. It seems the South is infested by vampires, with their leader, Adam (Rufus Sewell), being closely allied with Jefferson Davis. At Gettysburg, Lincoln figures out a way to beat back the vampires and this turns the tide of the war. Never mind that his solution is preposterous; the climax makes for an exciting action sequence. Abe is played by Benjamin Walker, a relatively unknown actor who bears a resemblance to Lincoln although he seems stiff and uncomfortable most of the time. Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie and Jimmi Simpson are solid as his companions and Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a winning Mary Todd Lincoln. Rufus Sewell, effective as he always is, needs more screen time. Perhaps if director Timur Bekmambetov had chosen to approach “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” with tongue firmly implanted in cheek the results might have been more entertaining. 6/22/12

Magic Mike - 1 smile

Now, I like Tatum Channing as an actor and I admire Steven Soderbergh as a director. However, the words that come to mind for “Magic Mike” are manipulative, silly, superficial, empty… It seems the most interesting aspect of this movie for Soderbergh is the jazzy male stripper dance scenes and what goes on behind the scenes as hot guys take it all off before an adoring female crowd. However, the rest of the story is bereft of any character development or emotional impact. If you believe all of the promotional stories (internet and newspapers) focusing on Channing, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey, Matt Bomer and Joe Manganiello, you’d expect stories for all of them. But if you didn’t recognize Bomer and Manganiello, you could blink and miss them. And Adam Rodriguez (CSI: Miami) has the same amount of screen time as Bomer and Manganiello, but I don’t recall him being a part of the hype.

And while Soderbergh’s story might have been more interesting if he had examined the motives of male strippers, he instead focuses on Mike’s (Tatum) flirtation with Brooke Page (newcomer Cody Horn). Not only is this plot point distracting, but Channing and Horn have no chemistry whatsoever. It turns out that sex, drugs and the stripping life style is really bad for these guys. Who knew? And do we care? 7/1/12