The Critical Filmmaker

Film:   Winter's Bone Starring :  Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Kevin Breznahan, Dale Dickey, Garret Dillahunt, Shelley Waggener, Lauren Sweetser, Ashlee Thompson, William White, Casey MacLaren, Isaiah Stone, Valerie Richards, Beth Domann, Tate Taylor, Cody Brown, Cheryl Lee Director:   Debra Granik   Screenwriter :  Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini Novel: Daniel Woodrell There's a sense of desolation watching Winter's Bone, but also a strong determination and a feeling of solidarity and community in this back country area, where people keep to themselves, but still lend a hand when one of their own is in need. Rees, a seventeen year-old who is left raising her two siblings and ailing mother, while her father has disappeared after putting up her home toward his bail, which means that if Reese doesn't find him, her family will be homeless. So she must track him down for the sake of her family, finding herself deeper and deeper into the seedy world w...

Film:   Lucky You Starring : Drew Barrymore, Eric Bana, Robert Duvall, Robert Downey Jr., Deborah Messing Director: Curtis Hanson   Screenwriter : Eric Roth and Curtis Hanson Why?  What prompted Drew Barrymore to play yet another naive innocent in some vacuous film?  I ask this question of Robert Duvall and Robert Downey Jr. although neither of these two were naive innocents, and the latter Robert's role was only about 5 minutes long. The premise of the film is the analysis of the life of Huck (yes, as in Huckleberry) Cheever (Eric Bana), a full-time gambler who can win successfully, but doesn't know when to stop.  Compulsive is the word.  He falls for Billie (Drew), who is in town visiting her sister (Deborah Messing), who warns Billie against Huck.  She falls for him anyway, thinking him a lost soul who can be changed. It doesn't matter that when she tells him that she got a job and he offers to celebrate, he takes her $1,000 in traveler...

Film:   Solitary Man Starring :  Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Danny DeVito, Mary-Louise Parker, Jenna Fischer, Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg Director:   Brian Koppelman and David Levien   Screenwriter :  Brian Koppelman Do you ever get the feeling that if films didn't have a moral, they'd be totally different? Solitary Man is the story of a man whose indiscretions lead to loads of problems.  This is what they want us to believe.  This sixty year-old, divorced man, who prefers his women of the late-teens-to-early-twenties variety, is a true charmer.  He's charmed his entire family, his work contacts and - of course - any woman that he sees as a potential sex partner.  Unfortunately for him his actions cause him to lose all the things that once meant something to him. The problem is that by the middle of the film, despite his steady decline, I sat there asking myself if rather than being shown the repercussions of Ben Kalmen'...

Film:   New York Street Games Starring : (as themselves) Keith David, Joe Pantoliano, Ray Romano, Hector Elizondo (also narrated), Regis Philbin, Whoopie Goldberg, Mike Starr, David Proval, Robert Klein, Robert Costanzo, Vinny Vella, Robert Moresco, Mark R. Harris, C. Everett Koop, Curtis Sliwa, Butch Barbella and Beverly R. Kahler Director: Matthew Levy   Official Site : http://www.newyorkstreetgames.com/ Where were you in the 1950's, 60's or 70's?  Did you hang out with your friends playing stickball, hopscotch or handball?  Then this film is for you. If you have never experienced what it was like playing street games as a kid, you'll enjoy this film because it might even inspire you to grab your friends together for a friendly game of Stoopball. This documentary is a fun nostalgia trip back to a time when playing in the streets of New York was considered a safe thing to do.  There was a mutual respect between drivers and kids, and there was no fe...

Film:   Letters to Juliet Starring : Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave, Gael García Bernal, Christopher Egan, Franco Nero Director: Gary Winick   Screenwriter : Jose Rivera and Tim Sullivan The title sounds endearing enough, and even the premise sounded good.  A woman on vacation in Verona, Italy stumbles upon the "Secretaries of Juliet" who write advice to the lovelorn.  Being a writer herself and a bit of a romantic, she joins in, because her fiance is too busy darting around the country getting tips, treats and cooking lessons, as well as making contacts for his new restaurant which he is opening in New York.  She stumbles across a 50 year old letter and decides to reply to it, which leads her on an adventure helping a woman find her lost love. Sadly, that's where the fun ends.  If you're into saccharine, chick-flick romances, then this is your kind of film.  No one dies at the end, thankfully.  That would have been too much for me....

Film:   Harry Brown Starring : Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Charlie Creed-Miles, David Bradley, Iain Glen, Sean Harris, Ben Drew, Jack O'Connell, Jamal Downey, Lee Oakes, Joseph Gilgun, Liam Cunningham Director: Daniel Barber   Screenwriter : Gary Young   Vigilante films have been around for several years, so it's hard sometimes to make ones that can be considered unique.  They're really designed to tap into our sense of fantasy justice.  While the methods are illegal, we all secretly wish to exact revenge in some way shape or form.  An eye for an eye, and all that.  And since we can't do that within the realms of reality, it's a great release to see someone do it on screen.  This film is no exception to both situations:  being cliche and tapping into a fantasy.    Like most films in this genre, this film is a bit predictable in places.  For one thing, you know that one day Harry Brown (Michael Caine) will avenge t...