New Releases

Director Morgan Spurlock has a talent for making insightful, engaging, and informative documentaries. Unfortunately, that talent is not in view for his latest film, Mansome. This movie is supposed to "explore the question: In the age of manscaping, metrosexuals, and grooming products galore -- what does it mean to be a man?" The answer, it would seem, is to be a vain, pompous, insecure stereotype.

The names Spurlock interviews for Mansome include Judd Apatow, Adam Carolla, Zach Galifianakis, Isaiah Mustafa, Paul Rudd, John Waters ... and as he likes to do, Spurlock himself gets in front of the camera briefly, to shave his mustache. The most interesting subjects are executive producers Will Arnett and Jason Bateman, who almost appear to be channeling their Arrested Development characters as they spend a day at a spa getting massages, facials and taking baths together.

The documentary starts with examining facial hair -- and seems to spend an inordinate amount of time on the subject -- and concludes this section with about 15 minutes focusing on the winner of a beard contest, who has an unkempt mane that descends past his groin. That was the first time this snoozer put me to sleep. After that, we're shown a focus group testing a new product called "Fresh Balls" that is, yes, an anti-perspirant for male organs.

Moving on, Mansome covers body hair and then head hair before concluding with Ricky, a clothing buyer and self-described metrosexual who appears to equate vanity with self-confidence. If they made this movie presenting women in this way, it would be called sexist and anti-feminist.

In exploring what it means to be a man, Spurlock focuses only on the superficial and avoids any internal answers to the question as he presents these vain, arrogant, even asinine subjects as being just as superficial and worried about appearance as women. Oh yes, I suppose Mansome IS sexist and anti-feminist. Only recommended if you're a huge fan of any of the above interview subjects.

Sacha Baron Cohen, best known for his MTV comedy series Da Ali G Show, achieved wild success translating his TV characters to the big screen in the 2006 movie Borat. Reception for his 2009 release Bruno, however, was deservedly lukewarm. Both films relied upon anonymity for the enormously talented actor as he put unsuspecting everyday people in the spotlight saying and doing extremely rude and outrageous things. His fame has made it relatively impossible for Cohen to remain incognito, so we are unlikely to see those kinds of performances from him again.

The Dictator, directed by Borat and Bruno filmmaker Larry Charles, plays like an attempt by Cohen to script the kind of insanity he achieved with Borat. His character, General Admiral Haffaz Aladeen, is the born dictator of the fictional African nation of Waadeya (actually depicted in the movie with the current borders of Eritrea), a Red Sea state that appears to be a caricature of Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Threatened with U.N. sanctions and a possible invasion by the U.S., Aladeen and his advisors travel to New York to address the U.N. in person.

Once in NYC, Aladeen is abducted as part of a murder plot from which he escapes, and then must find his way back into the U.N., stop the coup to replace him, and win the affections of his heart's desire. Cohen performs each scene as he would with one of his live characters. The other actors, however, generally fail to react as the jokes fly over their heads to the audience. As people meet Aladeen, they overlook or ignore some of the most offensive things he says as if attributing them to language barrier problems.

Indeed, some very offensive things are said in The Dictator, offensive if you ignore the tongue-in-cheek delivery of this caricature-within-a-caricature. Groups were already protesting the movie last week on these grounds. Cohen genuinely made me laugh several times with jokes that are neither insensitive or racially offensive, and it was these moments that made for an enjoyable experience. The people most offended by this movie will probably be Bush-supporting Republicans, as there is a very strong anti-Republican party message here.

Two of the cutest little girls I've ever seen on film are Lily and Violet Collins, the daughters of filmmaker (and former Austinite) Steve Collins, who included them in his 2011 feature You Hurt My Feelings. They are unscripted and adorable onscreen. Now you can watch them too, because Oscilloscope Films has just made You Hurt My Feelings available to rent or buy as streaming video on iTunes and Amazon. Read Elizabeth's review from the movie's Austin Film Festival screening last year.

The above photo is from a recent weeklong run of the movie at reRun Theater in Brooklyn (I've been there! It's a very cool place to watch movies). That's Steve Collins next to his daughters, and actors John Merriman and Courtney Davis on the right. Merriman told me this photo is the girls introducing the film and telling the audience to stay around for the Q&A afterward.

My description makes it sound like You Hurt My Feelings is about two little girls, but in fact the focus is on their nanny, John, played by Austin actor Merriman. The film has very little scripted dialogue -- the kids know Merriman well and their scenes with him are generally spontaneous -- and is about the relationship John has with Courtney, played by Davis. (My guess is that the characters are named after the actors to make it easier for the girls.) Courtney leaves John for Macon (Macon Blair), and John's emotional upset is written all over his face, even as he plays with the children.

I've only seen about 7 minutes of the first episode of the original series of Dark Shadows, so I cannot compare the TV show to Tim Burton's new take on it. I'll admit the only reason I tried watching the show was because an older woman asked me during a training session in 2001 whether I was named after the character in the late '60s supernatural soap. Up to that point in my life, I'd never heard of the show. When I heard this movie was coming out, I told Jette that I had to be the one to review Dark Shadows; how often do you get to watch a character who shares your name on the big screen?

Johnny Depp stars as Barnabas Collins, a powerful Maine businessman cursed by a witch in the late 18th century to be a vampire. For reasons too silly to explain, Barnabas finds himself in 1972 and discovers distant cousins are residing in the family estate. Elizabeth (Collins) Stoddard -- an unflappable Michelle Pfieffer -- is the (divorced? widowed?) family matriarch, living with her 15-year-old daughter Carolyn (Chloe Grace Moretz), brother Roger Collins (Jonny Lee Miller) and his haunted son David (Gulliver McGrath). Also residing in the house are psychiatrist Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham-Carter with a Tang-colored wig, as seen below), groundskeeper Willie Loomis (Jackie Earle Haley) and the new governess with a secret past, Victoria (Bella Heathcote).

Movie reviewers love surprises. We watch so many movies that it is hard to tolerate the routine and predictable. This is why some of us (okay, I mean myself) have the bad habit of starting too many positive reviews with the phrase "pleasant surprise." We delight in unexpected plot twists and non-standard endings, sometimes to the point where we overrate movies with these qualities.

I was lukewarm about The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel because after I read the press release, I felt it would hold no surprises for me whatsoever. I could predict the whole damn movie, and probably my review as well. A bunch of older British people with drab, unsatisfying lives move to India where they would be shocked and dismayed at first, but gradually would see the beauty of life and the wonders of the universe. Someone would fall in love, someone would find an unexpected friend, someone would have an epiphany. Cliches would abound. Despite what was unquestionably an amazing cast, I would be checking my watch regularly, perhaps even predicting which plot point would happen at what time.

While some of my general predictions about the The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel were indeed pretty accurate, the movie still surprised and delighted me. Expected plot points held unexpected twists. I haven't read Deborah Moggach's novel These Foolish Things, which Ol Parker adapted into this film -- I don't know whether the scenes I liked best should be credited to the novel, the screenplay or director John Madden. Perhaps Parker and Madden knew that many of the basic aspects of the story followed well-trodden ground and decided to avoid cliches, or at least spin them around. And naturally I was happy to be correct about the excellent perfomances from a cast of superstar British character actors.

Marvel's The Avengers, which opened Friday, is the best superhero/comic-book adaptation ever made. Filmmaker Joss Whedon proves he's the man who can bring together characters with godlike talents (and egos) and effortlessly make them play in his arena. This is the week's hottest release, and you want to be there.

If you've been living on another planet, then you might not know that Marvel has been working up the hype machine for this weekend's big release. Starting with post-credit teases after Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor and Captain America, Marvel has goaded fans into a fever of excitement. After such a build-up, it would be a catastrophe if the movie failed to deliver, but Joss Whedon writing and directing is at a career-high.

Whedon sets up the threat that brings all the now-familiar characters together, then he lets them face off as their super-powered egos bring their tempers to a boil before finally turning their attention back to the enemy that's threatening to destroy Earth.

That kind of juggling act is difficult with a normal ensemble cast, but doing it with names like Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston and Robert Downey Jr., and making it feel natural, is unfathomable. How do you reconcile the different power levels of these characters, which range from being literally a god to being land-bound and very vulnerable? It's done masterfully, as each hero proves to have unique skills that together produce the best team action ever filmed.

The only variable, the only big hulking question about The Avengers is Mark Ruffalo's performance as Bruce Banner/The Hulk. We've seen all the other characters in films within the last year. Ruffalo is a phenomenal actor, but after two previous actors' interpretations of the role, would his be some mashup of their styles? Would it be something new? Or would it be over-the-top?

World War II, fought on multiple continents with multiple armies, has an untold number of unique stories. One story revolves around an Asian soldier captured by the Americans during the Normandy invasion. In My Way (Mai wei), filmmaker Je-kyu Kang shows us how this man found himself taken from Korea to ultimately become a conscripted soldier in the German Wehrmacht.

The movie begins with color commentary of the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. The announcer is highlighting the movement of a Korean runner named Jun-shik Kim (Dong-gun Jang). Jun-shik Kim is steadily moving up the field of runners.

Quickly the story flashes back to Japanese-occupied Korea. A Japanese doctor and his family have moved to Korea to serve under the doctor’s father, a colonel in the Japanese Imperial Army. This family has a young son, Tatsuo Hasagawa, who spies another young boy running alongside their car. This boy is Jun-shik Kim, who quickly becomes fast friends with Tatsuo ... and also rivals. Via their shared love of running, the boys are commonly found in competition with one another.

The film takes a sudden turn when Tatsuo's grandfather is assassinated and Jun-shik’s family is blamed, causing the family to fall into poverty and despair. Jun-shik is forced to make a living as a rickshaw driver. Never letting things get him down, Jun-shik uses his job as a means to improve his running ability. 

After depicting Jun-shik’s continued training, My Way moves to the Korean Olympic trials. The Japanese took insult when a Korean runner won an earlier Olympic event and have banned all Koreans from representing their country. Ultimately, under pressure from a former Olympian, the occupiers are pressured into allowing Jun-shik's participation. Jun-shik wins the event, is denied his prize and a riot breaks out. As punishment, the Korean rioters are conscripted into the Japanese Imperial Army.

Given its stellar competition at this year's Oscars, it's not surprising that Monsieur Lazhar did not take home the award for Best Foreign Language Film. But this quiet, deeply affecting Canadian import is no less deserving of the honor than the winner, Iran's A Separation. Set during a dreary Montreal winter that reflects the movie's tone in so many ways, Monsieur Lazhar is an astute commentary on the art of teaching, an exploration of the cyclical nature of life and a powerful meditation on loss and grief.

The film opens at the start of a typical elementary school day that delivers a shock to everyone: A teacher has hanged herself in a classroom, and two of her students, Alice (Sophie Nélisse) and Simon (Émilien Néron) are deeply disturbed after finding the body. The horrific event casts a pall over the school and leaves the stunned but stoic principal, Mme. Vaillancourt (Danielle Proulx) unable to find a suitable replacement teacher.

Enter Algerian immigrant Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag), who inquires about the teaching job after reading about the suicide in the local newspaper. Vaillancourt is skeptical at first, but Lazhar's personality and credentials convince her to give him a chance. (His major argument for being hired is rather convincing: No one else wants the job.)

The Five-Year Engagement is from the same writing team that brought us The Muppets: Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller. Stoller also directs, while Segel plays part of the main duo. His Tom Solomon is a sous chef in San Francisco who proposes to his best gal, Violet (Emily Blunt), in the opening moments of the film. Violet is a grad student and the only school that accepts her for their Psychology program is in Michigan, oh no! Well, given the title of the film, you know their journey to the altar will be extremely slow, if it ever happens at all ...

Blunt, whose role of Violet was written specifically for her, and Segel are hilarious through the years of mishaps and trials that come their way.  Their attempts to get hitched never seem to come to fruition; in contrast, Tom's chef pal Alex (Chris Pratt) and Violet's younger sis Suzie (Alison Brie) speedily fall for each other and pull off a fast and quirky wedding. A related note: if you are a fan of the song "Cucurrucucú paloma," you may never hear it the same after watching this movie.

When I was in college, I fell in love, deeply and intensely ... with Thirties screwball comedies, with quirky indie comedies, with Billy Wilder and Preston Sturges and Bill Forsyth and I can't remember who-all else. I didn't get to Whit Stillman and Metropolitan until graduate school, but I really liked that movie too.

And while I was watching Stillman's latest movie, Damsels in Distress, all I could think of was how much I would have adored this film when I was in college. I liked it very much now, but the super-quirkiness, the obvious homages to Sturges comedies and Astaire/Rogers musicals would have overcome my then-infatuated self. The powers of scents to destroy or heal! A character named Fred Packenstacker, and another who calls himself Freak Astaire! Four women with distinctive personalities who are interested in men only as part of their mission to make the world a better place!