The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Posted on May 3, 2012 at 6:00 pm

A dream team ensemble cast of British acting superstars gives a predictable story of displaced retirees spark and depth in this cozy tale based on the novel These Foolish Things, by Deborah Moggach.

A group of British retirees come to India for one last adventure. Or, they come because they have nowhere else to go. Some have not let themselves think about which it is, or whether it is both. Easy-going Douglas (Bill Nighy) and the perpetually disappointed Jean (“Downton Abbey’s” Penelope Wilton) come because their limited resources cannot cover the life Jean sees for herself. “Would it help if I apologize again?” he asks. “No, but do it anyway,” she replies.

Muriel (Maggie Smith) is appalled by having to leave “proper” Britain to live among foreigners but it is the only way she can get the operation she needs without long delays from the National Health Service. Evelyn (Judi Dench), a recent widow in reduced circumstances, must learn to take care of herself — and finds that she likes it. Madge (Celia Imrie, the “we’re going to need bigger buns” “Calendar Girl”) hopes to find romance. Norman (Ronald Pickup) wants something a bit more carnal. Graham (a courtly Tom Wilkinson) wants to reconnect with his past. They each find The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel “for the elderly and beautiful” in Jaipur via a website. When they arrive, they learn the description of “a luxury development for residents in their golden years” was more aspirational than accurate. “You Photoshopped it!” one new resident accuses. “I offered a vision of the future,” Sonny explains. He tells them that everything will be all right in the end and “if it is not all right, it is not the end.”

The young proprietor is Sonny (“Slumdog Millionaire’s Dev Patel), whose grand plans and grander hopes for the hotel are so vivid he seems a bit surprised when it is pointed out that the the place is falling down and lacking some of the most basic of amenities, like doors with locks and reliable water. There are the expected culture clashes. The Brits are not used to chaotic riot of noise and color on the streets and the spicy food. But it is worth it to see Maggie Smith’s disdainful expression as she nibbles defiantly on the chocolate biscuits she brought from home, pronouncing, “I won’t eat anything I can’t pronounce!”

Seeing the impeccable performances of this magnificent cast is reason enough to see the film as these actors transform the most conventional of situations by making us care about the characters and their hopes. Wilton’s portrayal of Jean, the bitter wife, shows us how she cannot seem to find her way out of a labyrinth of disappointment. Dench as Evelyn, sitting on the phone listening to an endless recording telling her that her call is very important, knows that she has never really been very important. But there is something more than the kind of bittersweet but cozy story of plucky septuagenarians. Perhaps the reason they stay in the rundown hotel is that they understand how superficial appearances are. Perhaps the idea of restoring its grandeur to what it once was means something to them in a world where old age is “outsourced.” It is encouraging for some of them to learn that “like Darwin’s finches, we are slowly adapting to our environment.”

Parents should know that this film includes some strong language (f-word), sexual references (gay and straight) and partial nudity, sad death, and drinking.

Family discussion: Who gets the biggest surprise? Who changes the most?

If you like this, try: “Enchanted April,” “Monsoon Wedding,” “Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont,” and “A Room With a View”

Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story

Posted on May 3, 2012 at 5:34 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	NR
Profanity:	Mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Mild
Violence/ Scariness:	Wartime violence
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the film
Date Released to Theaters:	May 5, 2012

One of the most daring rescue missions of the post WWII era was the Raid on Entebbe in 1976. Terrorist groups called the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the German Revolutionary Cells hijacked an Air France plane with 248 passengers aboard. The flight was redirected to Uganda. The non-Jewish passengers were released and left and the crew was released but insisted on staying. They Jewish passengers were held hostage while the hijackers demanded the release of 53 convicted terrorists from Israeli prisons. The Israelis were given 48 hours to respond. They chose to rescue the hostages instead of negotiating.

The commando mission was led by 30-year-old Lt. Col. Yonatan (Yoni) Netanyahu, older brother of the man who would become Israel’s Prime Minister. All but two hostages were rescued and all eight terrorists killed in an expertly conducted mission that took just 58 minutes. All of the Israeli soldiers survived except for Yoni whose heroism and dedication were celebrated throughout the world. This thoughtful and stirring documentary tells his story.

The film draws on Yoni’s own words, which described the conflicts he felt about being a soldier and his passionate devotion to Israel, and on interviews with his family, his wife of four years, and the woman he was living with at the time of his death, and archival footage that shows us his gallantry and spirit.

This is a touching and inspiring story, powerfully told. Those who die young, especially those who sacrifice themselves to save others, are often reduced in memory to a name on a memorial or elevated to superhuman proportions to protect us from thinking about how we might measure up. This movie is filled with warm memories and specific details about a real person and what makes it so compelling is the reminder that by the time it ends we feel not just the admiration for his heroism but the sharp pain of his loss.

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A Guide to Marvel’s Avengers Universe

Posted on May 3, 2012 at 8:00 am

Thanks to CinemaBlend for this handy guide: 10 Things You Need to Know About the Marvel Universe Before Seeing “The Avengers.” SPOILER ALERT! Skip item 10. But if you’re not up on the backstories of the characters, their powers, their origins, and their secret identities and you don’t know your Chitauri from your Cosmic Cube, be sure to check this out before you buy your tickets.

And for fun, check out Nell Scovell’s very funny guide to the politics of the Avengers, their leader, and their nemesis, Loki.

Interview: Ted McGinley of “Notes from the Heart Healer”

Posted on May 3, 2012 at 8:00 am

Ted McGinley talked to me about re-teaming with Genie Francis for the third in the Hallmark series of films about an advice columnist known as “The Heart Healer.” In The Note, Peyton (Francis) discovers a note she thinks is from someone who was killed in a plane crash. Struggling with her own grief, including the loss of her husband, she tries to find the intended recipient of the note. The movie was Hallmark’s top rated for 2007 and led to a sequel, The Note II: Taking a Chance on Love, which brings Peyton closer to writer King (McGinley). Now in chapter three, “Notes from the Heart Healer,” the couple care for an abandoned baby. McGinley spoke to me about what he likes best about his co-star, filming in Victoria, Canada, and about his first real acting job replacing the star of the top television series of the decade. It will be on the Hallmark Channel Saturday May 12 8/7c & 10/9c and Sunday May 13 12/11c & 8/7c.

How does it feel to come back to this story and these characters?

I was excited to revisit it myself. First, to work opposite Genie is fantastic. We have a strange chemistry. Like an old glove, we just fit into each other. I loved this script, the best of the three. And every time we do these movies we go somewhere. It’s like an adventure. King’s a nice guy to put on, a nice guy to hang out with.

What is it like to work with Genie Francis?

She’s so skilled that you could lay out a deck of cards and read through all 52 as quickly as possible and have her read it back to you. She’s that sharp. She’s just a very open soul. That’s what she has in common with her character. When she first started doing this she had done the soap and had not had much experience with single-camera filming, but now she can move into this different formula. She is like silk when she works, so smooth. She is so in control of her emotions and how she uses them. I like her because she is very giving and very honest. The chemistry is good and it’s a fun place to be.

And what is it that draws people into these characters?

It’s a great story. I think the shame is that it is not a week to week series — Hallmark should make it a show you could sit down to watch with your family and get a heartwarming story every week, like “Touched by an Angel.” We are all touched by the fantasy of “what if.” Peyton reaches out through the newspaper to uncover stories. Each one is a fun little fantasy and it’s okay by the end. All you have to do is read the newspaper and there are 20 stories every morning that you could write an episode around. The first one was such a fun journey and very well done. The second one was not as well thought out. The third is the best. The relationship between King and Peyton is so strong, like she’s the dock he is heading for. The story is compelling and the guest cast is amazing. It felt like a little piece of magic up there.

Tell me about playing King.

King had a family previous to this and was addicted to his work. He just got old enough to realize that just having work and being successful at work and being a Pulitzer prize winner doesn’t do anything for your soul. You have to have a more well-rounded life. He lost his marriage and ruined his relationship with his son. He had climbed into this cave and was trying to do his work but had lost the passion of his life. He had blinders on. When he ran into Peyton, she had been in her own cave to protect herself and felt guilty. They were two wounded warriors who worked near each other but never knew each other, so it is a very healing process as they come together. He’s an easy person to be around. Not highly judgmental. I’m a sports fanatic and he is a sports writer but we never delve into that. All of that has to be in his background. Sometimes there are characters that are fun because they are nasty and shoot people but some are fun and comfortable and easy to get into, and that’s King; he’s a trustworthy, reliable, decent, smart character.

This chapter adds some new characters.

Laci J. Mailey stole the movie, just phenomenal, as the baby’s mother. The twins who took turns playing the baby were so great. When I’m away I miss my family so much and it was so great to have these babies to hang onto.

Where was it filmed?

Victoria. I spent half my time looking for places to live if I didn’t live where I do now. We were in Brentwood Victoria, and it is just spectacular. It is one of the great family vacation spots. You can do 50 different things almost every day, watch the planes come in and land on the water, whales, museums, the Community Gardens.

How did you decide to pursue acting?

I was playing water polo at USC, and a girlfriend told me I should do some modeling. I didn’t know what that was. I started modeling and someone was there casting a movie called “Valentine” with Jack Albertson and Mary Martin and they needed a guy to run on the beach. It was supposed to be a one-day deal and they paid my modeling fee. It rained for 13 straight days and I ended up being the 3rd highest paid, because they had to pay me for all those days. I spent 13 days hanging out with Jack Albertson and watching him. This is a fun job, and exciting job. I still thought I was going to go into commercial real estate or having my own advertising company. But this kept tugging at me and I ended up on “Happy Days” while I was still doing commercials, without any training. I had on-the-job training — with the Fonz. Ron Howard left because they wouldn’t let him direct, so I call it “the Chachi years.” It was a great learning ground. I made a lot of mistakes, publicly, coming from being very successful in polo to being a beginner. I’m never the guy who got in for the attention; I still don’t like getting up in front of a crowd. In some ways Roger on “Happy Days” was my most challenging role because I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I didn’t know timing, rhythms. I played a murderer/rapist in a TV movie and that was very challenging. But there’s always a couple of moments in every show — the key is to find those moments and allow them to be challenging. There’s a lot of jobs you can’t say no to, and you say, how am I going to do this, to get through those kinds of scripts and live with yourself.

What are some of your family’s favorite movies to watch together?

“Kicking and Screaming,” the soccer movie with Will Ferrell — we love that as family. My house is that house that all the kids go to. We still howl laughing at it. On the way to a soccer tournament, we’ll watch it, too. And “Elf” — it’s fun when you watch it with a group of teenagers and watch them laugh hysterically. That’s the best.

STAY TUNED FOR AN INTERVIEW WITH MCGINLEY’S CO-STAR, GENIE FRANCIS, COMING NEXT WEEK.

Is your mom a heart healer? Hallmark Channel is looking for inspirational, poignant or funny stories about moms who have healed a heart. Post your tributes to Facebook.com/hallmarkchannel

#HeartHealer #HallmarkChannelCountdown

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The Avengers

Posted on May 2, 2012 at 1:00 am

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout and a mild drug reference
Profanity:	Mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Brief reference to "weed"
Violence/ Scariness:	Constant comic-book style action violence and peril, characters injured and killed
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	May 4, 2012
Date Released to DVD:	September 24, 2012
Amazon.com ASIN:	B0083SBJXS

“The Dirty Dozen.” “The Bad News Bears.” “The A-Team.” “The Expendables.” Stories about a mixed group of badass tough guys who have trouble with authority but learn to work together are second only to stories about loners taking on The Man in their enduring popularity. Writer-director Joss Whedon, who revitalized science fiction and fantasy with “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Firefly” makes “The Avengers” a smart, exciting, and engaging superhero story that deftly balances seven larger-than-life characters (some literally), their personal and inter-personal struggles and their interplanetary battles. The film does not take itself or its characters too seriously but it takes entertainment seriously, serving up plenty of popcorn pleasure. There’s a light dusting of politics (secret WMDs) and character (sibling rivalry, making peace with oneself), and some humor pixie dust to break the tension and add sparkle, but this is about fighting the bad guys, and it does that very well.

There are two super-geniuses. The enormously wealthy businessman Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) gets his super-powers mechanically. Scientist/humanitarian Dr. Bruce Banner (newcomer Mark Ruffalo taking over from Eric Bana and Edward Norton) has somehow become credentialed as a medical doctor and is providing health care to the poor while trying to maintain his equilibrium to avoid turning into an enormous green rage monster. There’s a demi-god: the Norse deity Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who swings a mighty hammer. The Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is a former Russian spy and assassin. Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) has super-archery skills, shooting a near-endless supply of high-tech arrows with a Swiss Army knife’s worth of super functions. Super-soldier Captain America (Chris Evans) is still adjusting to modern life after having been frozen for 70 years. For him, defeating the Nazis was just months ago and the discovery that the world is still so unsettled and violent is disturbing. But he perks up at a flying monkey reference — that one he recognizes. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is the guy with the eye-patch from S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) who brings this group of “remarkable people” together, explaining that they might not be able to save the earth, but they can certainly avenge it. If they can stop fighting with each other in a sort of rock-scissors-paper that has them matching strengths and weaknesses to see whether an immortal deity outranks a guy in an iron suit that flies and which is stronger, the hammer of Asgard or a vibranium shield.

When Thor’s brother Loki (a nicely demented Tom Hiddleston, pale as a vampire) steals the tesseract (a glowing blue cube that has the kind of powers you don’t want in the hands of the wrong people), it is time for the Avengers to assemble. Only the most completist fanboys will think that they could not have cut out about 20-30 minutes of the opening sections of tracking everyone down and having them battle each other until they develop some respect and the ability to work together. Some of it is necessary as an introduction to everyone’s powers and vulnerabilities, but we all know they’re going to get on board, so it slows things down too much. Do we really need the “This is not a drill” evacuation sequence? And why must every summer action movie feature a black tie party with a string quartet?

Once everyone is on the team, though, things pick up nicely as Loki’s warriors with long, creepy teeth show up in Manhattan and there is plenty of battle to go around. The bad guys bring all kinds of nasty stuff, including enormous sea-monster-type flying ships. And we get to see each of the Avengers do what he or she does best as they struggle with their own issues to be the heroes the world needs them to be. The Hulk is not the only one who has to make peace with his darker side. “Aren’t the stars and stripes a little old-fashioned?” Captain America asks, wondering what his new uniform should look like? “People might need a little old-fashioned,” says Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), who proudly owns a near-mint (light foxing) set of Captain America trading cards. The idea of heroes sometimes seem a little old-fashioned in these cynical and compromised days, and it is good to see a story that brings that idea back.

NOTE: Stay ALL the way through the credits. It will be worth it.

DVD/Blu-Ray: There are some lovely extras including commentary by writer-director Joss Whedon, a gag real, and behind the scenes features.

Parents should know that this film has constant comic-book peril and violence, chases, explosions, characters injured and killed, and a brief joke about “weed.”

Family discussion: Why was it so hard for the Avengers to learn to work together? What was the most important thing they had in common?

If you like this, try: “Iron Man,” “Thor,” “Captain America,” the X-Men movies and the original comic books