Prodigal Sons
You can’t make up this stuff! That’s why documentaries were invented – because if you saw a narrative movie with a similar plot line, you’d say, “This is ridiculous – too far fetched to be believed. Stop it, already.” Prodigal Sons, though starting out as a documentary about a son who decides to return to hometown Montana for the 20 year high school reunion, has so many extreme and unexpected twists and turns to it – from the introduction of high school football hero, Paul McKerrow, the prodigal “son” returning home as a women, filmmaker Kimberly Reed, and all the background that goes along with having made that decision, to adoptive older brother Marc who not only has childhood jealousy issues and a history of... READ MORE >>>

Alice In Wonderland #2
Most of us remember the old Disney version of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland from the simpler time when we were much younger and for most people it would be difficult to picture the story in any other way than that early animated version.  When I saw the ads for the new version, directed by Tim Burton, I was openly bothered with the billboard sized pictures of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and the overly large balloon head of the Red Queen which to me at least, was as annoying as a festering mosquito bite that I couldn't scratch.  Honestly, I didn't want to see this movie from the moment I saw the first advertisement.       For those people who've lived under a rock... READ MORE >>>

Alice In Wonderland
I was excited when I heard Tim Burton was making an Alice in Wonderland movie.  It feels like something that’s been that’s been sitting in the rumor mill for over a decade, just waiting to happen. Burton’s films have always had a sense of wonder about them, from the man-child road movie, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, to the more serious Big Fish, where a father and son bond through the power of imagination. Burton’s vision is surreal and expressionistic, producing just enough fantasy to make us acknowledge the smallest bits of real magic in our world. With that in mind, part of me likes the new Alice in Wonderland, and the other part is unsatisfied.      The setup of the new Alice is similar to... READ MORE >>>

The Yellow Handkerchief
Three strangers end up in the same car for several days, going south on a path parallel to the Mississippi River.  None would admit to making a conscious decision to share each other's company, or even having ever made an important decision in their lives.  All are sad, lonely, outsiders who have no destination or are afraid to admit to themselves they do.  One is 15 year old Martine (Kristen Stewart) who gets in the car to make her boyfriend, her father, anyone worry about where she may have gone off to.  Another is an awkward young man who calls himself a Native American Indian.  Gordy (Eddie Redmayne) feels he just has to see more, as his native spirit demands.  Still another is ex-con Brett... READ MORE >>>

Brooklyn's Finest
I’m a big fan of the gangster/mobster/underworld sub-genre, so I was looking forward to seeing Brooklyn’s Finest, the latest by director Antoine Fuqua, he of Training Day fame.  Like other films recently, I was let down.  On the other hand, it’s better than most things out there.     Being able to make an urban, crime drama takes a very deft hand.  Screw it up and it comes off clichéd , phony or silly.  Do it right, and you’ve got something close to a perfect allegory for life.  Brooklyn’s Finest is at neither end of this spectrum.  It’s the kind of film that has potential, but it gets in its own way.     Fuqua puts together the kind of cast that could pull off something very intriguing:  Don... READ MORE >>>