Jack Goes Boating

First Hit: At times it was well acted and engaging but overall the unevenness took away from its impact.

This is a sweet story of Jack (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) who lives his life in a quiet desperation. He would like a relationship and yet keeps his life in control and on a very short leash.

He’s a limousine driver, listens to the same cassette tape over and over again, has scruffy natural dreadlocks from not combing his hair and barely looks comfortable in any situation. His best friend Clyde (played by John Ortiz) is also a limo driver, is married to an edgy girl named Lucy (played by Daphne Rubin-Vega), and they both want Jack to be happy and settled in a good relationship unlike theirs.

Lucy and Clyde introduce Jack to Connie (played by Amy Ryan) who is a bit afraid of the world, is smart but hesitant, and has the vibration of having given up trying to have a relationship. The beauty of this film is in the moments when Jack and Connie are together and some of the best moments are when there is no dialogue.

The silences of both of them processing information and dealing with their own thoughts and insecurities are wonderful. Their dialogue is in tune with their experience of life and direct with a beautiful honesty.

They have a first date in early winter and plan a second date for the summer to go boating. You have to love that. However, they do figure out they can actually have dates in-between.

The downside of this it the film felt uneven in its execution. At times it had the pacing of a slower character study French film and at other times the pace was a bit too quick.

Hoffman both directed and starred. From an acting point of view he is solid as Jack and the deep smoldering anger that shows up in one particular moment is very defining and clearly in character. As a director the unevenness is directly related to an unsure way of how to direct this story in addition to plot difficulties that needed refinement. Ryan was exquisite and she also carried much of her role within and let it show evenly and with clarity. Ortiz’s character was difficult to understand and I don’t know if it was the role, him or the direction. Rubin-Vega was angry most of the film and it was within the character. But I wanted to know more as to why she felt so angry. Because of this her character felt constrained but key to the major dramatic moments.

Overall: A good film, some strong acting, and a story about people we might not see because they are hiding within most of the time.

Easy A

First Hit: Very smart film and Emma Stone is one of the few young actresses that could have pulled it off.

Films about high-school always seem to wallow in jocular and simple gross humor. Not that this film doesn’t play off of that type of humor, but what makes this film different is the way it’s done.

Stone plays Olive Penderghast who wants to be asked out on a date, seems to be not seen by the boys, doesn’t like the Christian club group at school, and has a best friend Rhiannon (played by Alyson Michalka) whom she shares her intimate information.

The backing and support she receives from her hip parents Dill (played by Stanley Tucci) and Rosemary (played Patricia Clarkson) allow her to be the smart, quipping, and intelligent girl she plays. To fix her non-existent reputation and the reputation of her gay friend she pretends to have sex with him at a large party given by the most popular girl in the school. They make it real enough that everyone thinks she puts out.

By doing this other guys think the gay guy is not gay and think that if they pay her, she will solidify their reputation as a hot guy. The thing is that nothing ever happens, she takes their money and spins the story the guys want spun about themselves.

The downside is everyone at the school thinks she is a slut. Because they are studying “The Scarlet Letter” in school she decides to sew a red “A” on her outfits. This causes additional negativity towards her and also allows her to also be more flippant and sarcastic.

Despite the fun she has with creating all the high school rumors about herself, it’s also causing problems in her life. Her parents support and share stories with her as a way to allow her to find her own way to resolve the lies being told about her. It has to start by changing the lies she told about everyone else.

Stone is dead on perfect for this part. She embodies the smart-alecky, good looking, somewhat plain, intelligent and self-understanding to carry this part from beginning to end. Tucci is wonderful as her father and it is easy to see the intelligent connection between the two. Clarkson is equally good as her mother and the talk they have on the hood of the Volvo is precious. Thomas Haden Church as Mr. Griffith is strong as Olive’s favorite teacher and Lisa Kudrow as Mrs. Griffith is good as the school guidance counselor who has her own shenanigans. Bert V. Royal wrote a strong and smart script. Will Gluck took this smart script and great cast and made a funny and thoughtful high school aged film.

Overall: This film was fun and joy to watch. It is smart and funny and not foolish.

Mademoiselle Chambon

First Hit: This is a very sweet and telling story which shows that love can sneak up on anyone and shake their world.

Despite the clunky loud and distracting opening credits where there is a jackhammer sound in the background, the film falls quickly into being a very strong mood piece.

The film is about a couple, their son, and how close they are and what happens to their relationships when one of them is deeply moved in another direction. The couple, Jean and Anne-Marie (played by Vincent Lindon and Aure Atika respectively), is loving and attentive to each other and their son.

The opening sequence after the credits is precious. The family is on a picnic and the son is asking grammar homework questions. The parents are stumped but try to find the answer. The tone and mood is that they are a simple couple, she works in a factory, he is in construction and what kids learn in school is beyond their knowledge. Their life is about enjoying the simple things.

Their son, Jeremy (played by Arthur Le Houerou) is about 10 years old. His father picks him up from school one day and meets with his teacher Veronique Chambon (played by Sandrine Kiberlain). She invites him to speak at Jeremy’s school on the kind of work he does.

The scene is absolutely precious because you see her heart being slightly lifted from behind a deep veil of pain and he is slightly taken aback at the children’s enthusiasm for what he does. The relationship between Veronique and Jean grows and the tension of unsaid feelings of love are wonderfully etched in their faces but not in their words to each other.

Lindon is perfect as the lifetime construction worker who does his job well, treats his family with love and respect and despite his slightly gruff and restrained exterior, a sweetheart of a man. Atika, is beautiful and her work here, although limited, is wonderful and clear. Kiberlain is extraordinary. She gives enough information with only her eyes and expressions to allow you to know her deeply and intimately. Her pain and sorrow are deep and her violin is her only dear friend. Stephane Brize as director and shares writing credits created a wonderfully executed slice of life, real life.

Overall: Probably a bit slow for most US citizens, it is a wonderfully paced film about how one’s world can be rocked very quickly.

Eat Pray Love

First Hit: Although the film is long, I enjoyed it because there are strings of the truth in it.

I’m usually not fond of seeing films based on books I’ve read. This one, for me, captured the important points of the book and although it didn’t do it wonderfully, the points were there to hear (not see) if you paid attention.

Based on the book of the same name by Elizabeth (Liz) Gilbert, the story is about finding inner peace and transforming the main character into being of love versus looking for love outside of herself. Because I’ve done my own inner work, have traveled the world, sat in meditation and silence for 3 months in one stint, and have engaged in spiritual retreats in communities around Europe, U.S, the Far East and India I have a perspective that many other watchers of this film will not have.

It is difficult to express what goes on in a meditative mind on film. Changes in how one behaves in the world which are developed through meditation can take years to assimilate into one’s life. Showing this in a film is difficult.

What can be shown are some of the processes the person goes through, initial results, and more importantly perceptive dialogue. Although this film is long, it isn't long enough to cover the Liz's real journey then and how it is still unfolding. If I were to adjust it, I’d take out some of the time in Italy and add more in the India segment.

This is a film about a woman’s growth into the beginning stages of her spiritual evolution. The key factors expresses are: Forgiveness – one has to forgive themselves.

The path to love is through loving oneself. See things with equanimity which will require balance. Say “yes” with an openness to learn from the people, decisions, obstacles and paths which unfold in front of you in each and every moment. Takes risks and step out of the bounds from which we perceive is our security. Security is an illusion, doesn’t exist in nature and therefore it doesn’t exist.

Julia Roberts is a fine actress. I love her laugh and in this film, I’ve never seen her be more at peace (inner) with herself. I would bet she’s done her own work over the past few years and that this performance just wasn’t acting. However, the problem with reading the book first I felt as if Roberts was too old for the part but all in all she did a very good job with it. Richard Jenkins was very good as Richard from Texas. Javier Bardem was good in his expression of Felipe. Again however, my impression of him from the book was very different, here Felipe was quite buff and younger than I expected. Ryan Murphy did a credible job of directing this story.

Overall: I enjoyed the film and filled in some of the pieces that were missing from the memory of the book.

Charlie St. Cloud

First Hit: This was a good film which held together well.

A number of films which deal with the loss of a loved one, life after death, the space between life and death, and the dealing with death don’t do it very well.

Some films, like Sixth Sense, Heaven Can Wait and even Ghost, do it in interesting and thoughtful ways. Charlie St. Cloud can be added to this list.

The story is about a young man who, through his sailing abilities, gets a scholarship to Stanford. His single mother, Claire (played by Kim Basinger), has worked extra shifts at the local hospital to support Charlie (played by Zac Efron) and his very close younger brother Sam (played by Charlie Tahan).

Because Charlie is a good 6 years older and they have no father, Sam looks up to Charlie and Charlie reciprocates by teaching Sam what he knows about sailing, life and baseball. Charlie gets in a car accident and Sam dies in that accident. Charlie cannot forgive himself and forgoes his life at Stanford to keep the memory of his brother alive.

Five years after the accident we see him as the caretaker of the local cemetery. One evening out he wanders down to the dock and starts admiring a wonderful sailboat. He discovers that Tess Carroll (played by Amanda Crew), an acquaintance from high school, owns the boat and is preparing to sail around the world in a solo race.

Through a confluence of events of which I won’t go into detail here, he saves both their lives in different ways. What works about this story is that it is well crafted. It doesn’t waste time with over long setups. It doesn’t telegraph the ending, the script is clean and it stays on target all the way until the ending.

Efron is a good looking young man and he can act. It was great to see Basinger again; it has been a long time. Tahan is wonderful as the hell bent younger brother who is both feisty and thoughtful. Crew is wonderful and fits especially well with Efron. Ray Liotta has a small but key part in the film which was good as well. Craig Pearce and Lewis Colick wrote a good script and Burr Steers directed this film with a clear vision.

Overall: Yes it is a romantic drama between very young people and it works very well.