The Dilemma

First Hit: Although not a great film, I found it amusing and enjoyable to watch.

With Vince Vaughn in a film, you know you are going to get fast talking, sarcasm, and an attempt to make a serious point. In this film the point is, does Ronnie Valentine (played by Vaughn) tell his best friend, Nick Brannen (played by Kevin James) that his wife Geneva (played by Winona Ryder) is having an affair.

Ronnie is living with Beth (played by Jennifer Connelly) who is the films straight character is a chef and is happy living with Ronnie. Nick and Geneva are pushing for Ronnie and Beth to get married saying it is the best thing to do, however when Ronnie discovers that Geneva is having an affair his is at a loss as to what to do. He doesn’t know if he should tell his friend and ends up confronting Geneva and her lover Zip (played by Channing Tatum).

This leads to lots of odd behavior which gives Vaughn a character to act out and non-stop dialogue. Because Ronnie and Nick are partners in a business and their business is at the precipice of making it big, the pressure is on.

Does Ronnie tell his friend of his wife’s affair and risk losing the biggest business deal of their lives?

Vaughn is the same character in every movie he makes, so there is little that is new and yet he does have the capacity to make it watchable. James is also type cast in the same sort of role of funny but insecure guy. It was great to see Ryder again in a primary role. She had the best scene and best performance in a scene when she and Vaughn were in a café and she told him how she was going to lie about her affair. She did what Meg Ryan did for faking an orgasm in “Harry Loves Sally” by acting how she was a victim of a horrible lie by her husband’s best friend. Connelly has a minor role and she was the sane and conscious one in the group. I found myself wanting her to be more involved in the film. Allan Loeb wrote the script and I’m sure Vaughn ad libbed sections of it. Ron Howard directed these actors well and was able to make Vaughn watchable and enjoyable.

Overall: This isn’t a great film but it is fun enough to watch without wondering where it is going or how it is going to end.

Angels & Demons

First Hit: Poorly constructed, not believable, and without suspense.

I’m not sure why this film was made except to rake in money from the audience who watched its poorly made predecessor The Da Vinci Code.

At the beginning we find ourselves in a lab in Sweden they create three hermetically sealed containers of anti-matter. This is dangerous stuff, they say. Someone steals one of the containers by gouging out one of the scientist’s eyeballs to use on a retinal scanner which allows him to break into the room where the anti-matter is kept.

Next, there is a threat on the Vatican to blow it up with the anti-matter and it is made more important because the same guy kidnaps 4 important Cardinals and they are each scheduled to die just prior to the antimatter blowing up the Vatican.

The Pope has died and his young helper (Played by Ewan McGregor) has temporary and limited Pope power so he tries to help solve the crime (or does he?).

To save the day (Find the anti-matter and kidnapped Cardinals) they call in Robert Langdon (Played by Tom Hanks) who doesn’t get on well with the Vatican because of his previous book which dissed the Vatican and the Catholics. But they need his expertise in the real history of Catholicism to tell them about the Illuminati, a secret sect that broke off from the Vatican because they delved in finding out the truth of humanity through science.

To assist Langdon the scientist, Vittoria Vetra (Played by Ayelet Zurer), who helped create the antimatter joins in the search because she is the only one who can change the battery in the anti-matter’s container. The battery keeps it from becoming matter and exploding.

Ron Howard, as director, shoots nice pictures but really needs to focus on finding good material about people that we can care about. Tom Hanks must be in the sunset of his career if he couldn’t see that this film has no soul and nothing to care about. I’d ask him to remember Philadelphia and Forrest Gump and do a gap analysis against any script he receives. As for the rest of the cast, they were not believable except Armin Mueller-Stahl as Cardinal Strauss who seemed to bring some authenticity to his role.

Overall: A visually pretty waste of talent and time. But if you like driving around Rome fast in cars this film might be for you.

Frost / Nixon

First Hit: Although it had more fantasy drama built into the story than what was true, when it came to the goods of the film (the power of interview itself), it was incredibly strong and an extremely compelling story.

I didn’t get a chance or opportunity to watch the interviews when they were actually aired in 1977 so I was extremely pleased that this story came to the big screen in the capable hands of Director Ron Howard and Producer Brian Grazer.

The beginning of the film initially highlights the well publicized resignation of Richard Nixon but then begins to build the counter story of David Frost as a lighthearted talk show host who has more an eye for women than creating interesting and compelling television shows.

This is where some of the fantasy comes in. Yes, it is true he headed some light weight variety and talk shows but he had also interviewed other heads of state and therefore did have some chops.

But the film focused on his light side more than these other aspects as a way to build tension for the battle royal, sort of speak. Regardless, this view helps the film set up the two combatants who will meet in the ring of the interview.

Supporting the ex-President are strong seasoned intellectuals that are media savvy and strong Nixon loyal pragmatics who believe Nixon can be exonerated and come back into power. Also there is Nixon, and although he may have had lapses of judgment and a staff with devious intentions, he was a smart and driven man.

On the other side of the coin there was Frost and his team of researchers with one focus, to lay open Nixon’s poor judgment and lack of contriteness for his crimes and dishonesty towards the American people. They wanted blood, they wanted a confession.

The battle takes place in a nondescript location but this adds to the story and is wonderfully compelling.

The casting was spot on perfect. Frank Langella performance, as Nixon, could easily get an Oscar nod. Michael Seen as Frost is equally strong. The close up facial expressions of both these men made me fully believe they were the people they were representing. Kevin Bacon as Nixon’s protector Jack Brennan was a perfect fit. In fact everyone cast in this film was wonderful. Ron Howard is skilled at pulling out great performances while staying true to his craft of finding the path in telling a great cohesive story.

Overall: I grew up in this time period, a Vietnam veteran and was directly impacted by Nixon’s decisions. Therefore I felt nothing but anger for this man who lied to us all while being in our country’s highest office. However, this film was so good that I actually gained a level of compassion for Nixon the man, and although compassion doesn’t mean condoning behavior, I saw and felt the difficult life Nixon created for himself.

In the Shadow of the Moon

First Hit: “Extraordinary.” This is an amazing film. It truly marks a moment in time for all mankind.

There aren’t enough words to express the amazing trip this film takes you on.

Ron Howard captures the events of the time with a wonderful mixture of authentic footage from NASA, television, and narration by the people who made it happen.

Telling the story of how these hard charging, brave, brilliant, and prideful men who were labeled as having “the right stuff”, landed on the moon and came back could have been a cold factual flag waving story.

However, what Ron presents is a beautifully open, honest, and factual story through the Astronauts eyes which reflect a human and world view. Each of them shares their own intimate experience as the images weave through the facts of this remarkable event.

What the audience receives is a beautifully human story giving us a real sense of what it was like to be part of this extraordinary event.

At the end of the film each of the interviewed Astronauts shares a few words about how this event changed their lives spiritually. Each of them had an epiphany, an “ah ha”, or an insight about themselves and the human race. And although each of them experienced it differently, there is no doubt in my mind they each have seen things as they truly are and this does change one’s life forever.

Overall: It is a must see because these are the only human beings to ever see the whole earth at one time. They saw a brilliantly beautiful blue ball suspended in the black emptiness of space. And as one of the men commented, if I held my thumb out I could cover the entire view of the earth.