This film is the flip side of Marwencol. It is the story of “extraordinary” people , if you consider rich, greedy, sociopathic,  shark-like captains of industry, politics and the media “extraordinary”.

This is the story of exactly how they screwed the 99% of us who are not rich in the latest world recession. Warning :This film is not for anyone who wants to be left at the end with a shred of optimism about, or pride in, any of our systems of governance and communications .Warning:

This film is not for those who still have any money in the stock market. Fortunately, I suffer from none of these conditions so I was enthralled by this film, just the way I am  amazed watching a train wreck .I want to turn away but I just can’t. I must admit to some disappointment at the end to see that nothing has changed since the new U.S. federal politicians took over but, on reflection, why should I be surprised?  Good for Matt Damon for doing the narration of this sorry tale. Really worth seeing.

Review-Wicked and We wouldn’t Have Her Any Other Way

I loved this musical ,a genre I generally eschew. Great voices, melodic, if not memorable, tunes , good costumes and a lovely reworking of the Wizard of Oz. This story has a moral we cannot hear often enough. Thoroughly enjoyable. Too bad this kind of theatre is so pricey. If you can afford to fork out the money, you won’t be disappointed.

Dame Velveeta Peron

“Never Let me Go” should have been titled “Please let me go from this Cinema. A stupid premise from a boring Ishiguro book turned into a bloodless (no pun intended ) futuristic movie about people raising children to harvest their body parts. Duh, didn’t  anyone tell them that people have been doing this for years. Not even a one star on the cuteness scale nor worth a rental unless you have insomnia and can’t afford the sleeping pills. Yawn. Well, off to bed now kiddies.

Due Date

True Confessions: I love Robert Downey Jr. more than I love my cats. I realize how cheap and trashy that is, but true. So, I cannot be totally objective about his films.  With that caveat, I tell you that I thought that Due Date was a mindless ,funny confection and a fitting updated version of  Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Zack Galifanakas ( or whoever he is) is very funny in an immature teenager kind of way that is completely endearing. Even Sonny the dog is way over the top. This movie is crass, silly, childish and irresistible. Robert Downey is a great foil. The whole thing is so implausible and cheesy that it totally works for me, down to the cliché Mexican border guards. Go and laugh and don’t worry what people around you think.

Dame Velveeta Peron ( one day hopefully to add Downey Jr. to her name)

I loved Fair Play. It is the true story of the ex-CIA agent the Bush administration outed because her husband outed Bush’s lies about weapons of mass destruction to justify his war on Iraq. To ensure realism, the director used quite a few pieces of real footage from Bush’s and others’ speeches during that time. He also played it very low key with credible dialogue.

Sean Penn and Naomi Watts are thoroughly believable in the starring roles, as is Sam Shepard as her father.

If anyone has forgotten why the U.S. finally voted out the Republicans, this is a good reminder. Sure hope they are struck down with collective memory loss when the next election comes along.

RED - It's Mindless Fun

I enjoyed RED a lot but don’t ask me to remember any details. It is just a piece of fluff with good performances  by Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman ( Morgan, I hope what they have been writing about you isn’t true but I fear it is ) and a great performance by Helen Mirren as a grenade and bazooka toting ex-CIA agent. Pure silliness from start to finish – but what’s wrong with that ?

Dame Velveeta Peron

Well done Tony Goldwyn, for this excellent direction. The cast is marvelous. Both Minnie Driver and Juliette Lewis should be given a best supporting actress nod for their roles. Hilary Swank is well cast in the only role at which she excels, poor white trash makes good and Sam Rockwell , playing her ne’er do well brother, matches her performance beautifully. The dialogue is believable throughout. The girl talk is just the way I chat with my galfriends, funny, sassy and irreverent. (Can you believe it ?).

The family chatter is very realistic too. By the end of the movie there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. ( I know this because I was in the VIP screening room.) Even I felt my cynical eyes moisten a touch, but of course , not enough to let my mascara run. ( Don’t believe that “no run” advertising, boys and girls.) This movie is money and time well spent. And for once the lawyers in it do something worthwhile.

Bye for now,

Dame Velveeta Peron

Hereafter – Why did Eastwood make this film?

I saw Hereafter yesterday at a 6:10 show. There weren’t too many people in the film, but those that were seemed fairly young, either Matt Damon or Clint Eastwood fans I guess. I am both. Yet I was at a loss to figure out where this film was going; what genre it was meant to be. I expected a film that was frightening, about ghosts coming back to haunt people or a “meaning of life “ theme. Instead the film just meandered around a bit of everything-romance, loss, fear of death, growing up. I decided to stop trying to pigeon hole it and just sit back and enjoy the ride. Once I did, I was fine. Matt Damon is a cutie patutie , with a few grey hairs I noticed, so that’s good. His French co-star was an adorable looking girl too. The star of the show was clearly the young boy who plays twin brothers, sad eyes and an adorable English accent. The first scene is worth the whole experience.

I don’t know what it was that attracted Eastwood to this film . That would be interesting to know. Maybe I missed something but it was really just a rather mishmash. Okay if you see it; okay if you don’t. Definitely doesn’t help resolve the meaning of life issue or the question of whether or not there is a Hereafter, if that happens to be a preoccupation for you. It isn’t for me, although if there is, I hope I live on Matt Damon’s street.

Amazing One man Art Show at the ROM – El Anatsui  of Nigeria

A friend mentioned this art show to me last week and I went with a girlfriend. It was absolutely great. The artist, a Nigerian man who has been using objects found in his own environment like beer caps, pieces of wood, stones, wine wrappers , has created striking wall hangings, sculpture and paintings depicting the history of Nigeria and the relationship it has had with its white oppressors. The works have joy, pain, pride, courage and fear. The ROM space is perfect for the show. Although El Anatsui is world renowned I had never heard of him but I am now talking about him a lot. Check out some of his work on the internet if you are skeptical. It is truly original and awe-inspiring work.

Dame Velveeta Peron

When did Woody Allen stop being funny and become just plain maudlin ? This new film is so bad that I saw it this afternoon and have forgotten it already. Which is what you should do, forget it. ,,,,,,Dame Velveeta Peron