Never Back Down

Posted on March 13, 2008 at 6:00 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving intense sequences of fighting/violence, some sexuality, partying and language - all involving teens.
Profanity:	Strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Teen drinking
Violence/ Scariness:	Graphic peril and violence, brutal fighting with many injuries
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	March 14, 2008

never%20back%20down.jpg There have been a number of very successful films lately that show one or more high school kids participating in some form of ultimate competition, usually involving dance or sports. The form is as predictable as a limerick: Good-hearted but sullen and misunderstood New Kid comes to school with a tragic backstory to overcome. New Kid has natural talent. Snotty Type thinks he/she is all that. New Kid tries to show off and suffers humiliating defeat. New Kid learns important lessons about life (often from Wise Teacher). He/she and begins to develop a romantic relationship with Love Interest and a friendship with Goofy Sidekick, who is there to provide wisecracks and very often additional motivation by being at risk. Just in time for the big show/game, New Kid finds he/she has the nerve, the skills, and the eye of the tiger. And who is in the audience? Not just Love Interest, but PPP — Previously Prohibiting Parent.

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Movies -- format

Horton Hears a Who

Posted on March 12, 2008 at 7:49 am

They finally got Dr. Seuss right in this warm-hearted and heart-warming story of the elephant who is “faithful 100 percent” and the world on a little speck of dust that he rescues.

Jim Carrey provides the voice of Horton, an elephant with a gentle soul who teaches the jungle animal children. When a frail plant is carelessly trampled underfoot, he stops to pat it carefully back into the ground. And when he hears a tiny voice coming from a dust mote, he races after it to tenderly place it on a clover. He finds a way to communicate with the voice, which belongs to the Mayor of Whoville (Steve Carell). Each is surprised to find out that there is a world beyond the one he thought of as everything there was.

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Spiritual films

Political scandal and The Politician’s Wife

Posted on March 11, 2008 at 3:57 pm

Once again a politician is in disgrace and once again his wife appears at his side at the press conference. While he admits his mistakes, she stands there in silent support. What is she thinking? Of the sacrifices she made over the years, the time spent smiling, shaking hands, pretending to be interested, wishing she was alone with her family or pursuing her own interests? Of the humiliation of seeing her family’s most personal information dissected by pundits and cackled over by people who have never contributed to the public good?

An excellent BBC miniseries starring Juliet Stevenson explores what might be on the mind of one such woman. It is called, of course, “The Politician’s Wife.”

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Rediscovered Classic

August Rush

Posted on March 11, 2008 at 8:00 am

Those who are willing to open their hearts to this urban fairy tale will find its pleasures, as long as they they don’t think about it too hard.
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No Country for Old Men

Posted on March 11, 2008 at 8:00 am

“I’m fixin to go do somethin dumbern hell but I’m goin anyways. If I don’t come back tell Mother I love her.”
“Your mother’s dead Llewelyn.”
“Well I’ll tell her myself then.”
For the Coen brothers’ first-ever adaptation of another writer’s work, they found an author whose terse, wry, gritty dialogue is a perfect match. Cormac McCarthy’s book about a man who finds a case full of money at the scene of a drug deal gone very, very wrong is ideally suited for the Coen brother’s understated talk and striking visuals.

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Crime Drama