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Stone Reader

Posted on May 9, 2003 at 6:13 pm

A
Lowest Recommended Age: Middle School
Profanity: Mild
Nudity/ Sex: None
Alcohol/ Drugs: References to drug use
Violence/ Scariness: References to suicide, mental illness, war
Diversity Issues: None
Date Released to Theaters: 2003

Bookworm, you know who you are, you glorified loafer, you word-nerd. You, at times, have shunned humans, shirked work, stayed up too late, skipped showers, spent beautiful days inside, hiked mountains with hardbacks, haunted bookstores for hours (not buying a thing), faked illness, and committed legion other minor social crimes, all to be with these magnificent companions, these books. It is to you that this documentary is tipping its hat, for “The Stone Reader” is an ode to loving books. When you pull your nose from that novel, see this movie.

In director Mark Moskowitz, you will recognize a kindred soul. Moskowitz is a bit of a geek whose day-job is creating promotional spots for politicians and who calls his mom when he has to do something that makes him anxious. He directs this slow-paced but engaging documentary with a visible need to communicate the joy of his obsession, which was re-ignited by a book called “The Stones of Summer.”

As he informs you in the first “chapter” of the documentary, Moskowitz picked up the book at seventeen and could not make it through the first chapters. At forty-two, he finds himself trying again and this time he is enthralled. He makes it his mission to find out what happened to the book, which no one else seems to have ever read, and to the author, Dow Mossman, who never published again. His trip meanders back and forth from his pastoral home to various interviews with experts on everything along the reading chain, from writers to publishers to reviewers.

Torpid and philosophical, the first half of the movie examines the reader’s connection to books and features thought-provoking interviews as well as a lovely radio piece in which writer Mario Puzo describes his parent’s horror at his reading habit. The second half of the movie introduces the palpable tension of whether Moskowitz will ever find out what happened to Mossman.

It’s not often that you get to see a documentary about such an un-cinematic subject as the joy of reading. There are no sexy Hollywood stars here, flexing their dramatic muscles as lovers brought together by books or as characters from the pages of a novel, which are the typical roles played by literature in film. The modulations of tone are subtle from the quiet excitement of Moskowitz’s young son as he lovingly unwraps the latest “Harry Potter” to the elegiac note which creeps into the interview with Carl Brandt, a literary agent, as he talks about how the book could never have been published these days.

Let it be noted that this movie is about as far as one can go from a summer action flick and still be sitting in a theater. For those who do not share Moskowitz’s love of books, then this movie will be 128 minutes better spent elsewhere, perhaps with someone who can explain to them the immense and lifelong joy of reading.

Parents should know that the most dangerous act in this movie is when Moskowitz drives from his mailbox to his house without wearing his seatbelt. There are discussions about the early ‘70’s which mention draft-dodging, war and drug use. One of the people interviewed, Dan Guenther, discusses some of his experiences in Vietnam.

Families who see this movie should talk about what reading means to them, about what book first inspired a sense in them that they were not alone, about an author who they feel speaks to them. Beyond reading, families might discuss how a personal quest might inspire a person to strive to learn or excel, and might alienate them from others, as Mossman was alienated.

Families who enjoyed this movie might wish to rent literary inspired stories such as “Shakespeare in Love” (1998) or “Possession” (2002), both starring Gwyneth Paltrow. They might also be interested in “Shadowlands” (1994) or “84 Charing Cross Road” (1986), both starring Anthony Hopkins. For those families who truly enjoyed the movie, it is more likely that they will wish to rush home to read. If so, a delightful ode to reading is Anne Fadiman’s little book “Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader.”

Daddy Day Care

Posted on May 3, 2003 at 3:25 pm

B-
Lowest Recommended Age: Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
Profanity: Some naughty words
Nudity/ Sex: Potty humor
Alcohol/ Drugs: None
Violence/ Scariness: Comic violence, no one hurt
Diversity Issues: Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters: 2003

This is the sort of movie that Hollywood can churn out in its collective sleep and audiences can watch without really waking up. It is as bland and predicable as a package of Kraft Macaroni and cheese, but likely to please the same target audience.

Eddie Murphy plays Charlie, who loves his wife, Kim (Regina King) and four year old son, Ben, but has trouble finding time for them due to a high pressure job in marketing. When his new product, breakfast cereal made from vegetables, is a flop, Charlie and his friend Phil (Jeff Garlin) are laid off. Kim has just started working, so Charlie stays home with Ben.

The only preschool in town is the snooty Chamberlin Academy, where children in prep-school uniforms study Freud, Portuguese, and SAT vocabulary words. It is run by mean Ms. Harridan (Anjelica Houston). When Charlie and Phil can’t find new jobs, they decide to start Daddy Day Care at Charlie’s house.

That gives us 20 minutes for the set-up, 30 minutes for everything to go wrong, and 30 minutes for Charlie and Phil to clean up their act and for the bad guys to almost win and then lose, with a few minutes for “what really matters in life is family” lessons along the way. They throw in some diaper humor for those in the audience most recently involved with potty training, some lite rock classics and an appearance by an aging rock band (Cheap Trick) to make the parents in the audience feel hip, and of course the bloopers and out-takes during the credits. The result is a movie that is undistinguished and undistinguishable but not too awful. It sags here and there, but picks up whenever Steve Zahn appears as an emergency recruit who may be a little spacey (in more senses than one), but who has knack for communicating with kids. But no one else seems to be trying very hard, including the people who spelled Anjelica Houston’s name wrong in the credits (or maybe she just didn’t want her real name on this movie).

Parents should know that the movie has some mildy naughty words (“butthead,” “screw up”) and a lot of potty humor. There is also some comic violence and slapstick (including a brief appearance by the Three Stooges). Kids may be troubled by the idea of a parent losing a job.

Families who see this movie should talk about how Charlie learned about what was important to him and how members of their own families show each other that family comes first. They should also talk about what the chldren learn from Phil, Charlie, and Marvin. What makes Tony want to be himself instead of Flash? Why wasn’t Crispin polite before and why is it so important that he learned to be polite from Charlie? Phil tells Charlie that Ben doesn’t like to do the “rocket ship” swing through the air. Why didn’t Charlie know that before? What did Charlie learn about listening to kids? Families might also want to discuss Ms. Harridan (look up that word in the dictionary to see what it means) and what was important to her. And they should talk about how Charlie’s boss thinks children can make parents buy things they don’t want to.

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy 1983’s “Mr. Mom” with Michael Keaton. It is interesting to compare the ends of the two movies to see how times have changed.

Manic

Posted on May 1, 2003 at 9:56 am

A-
Lowest Recommended Age: Mature High Schooler
Profanity: Very strong language, innumerable F-words
Nudity/ Sex: Many sexual references, including rape, molestation
Alcohol/ Drugs: Drug use, references to drinking and other substance abuse
Violence/ Scariness: Fights, including brutal attack
Diversity Issues: Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters: 2003

This documentary-style film about teenagers in a mental hospital has enough sincerity to make up for whatever it lacks in professionalism or originality. It is well worth watching with the teenagers in your life.

The story is traditional,following the classic model of hospital-based stories from “David and Lisa,” to “Clean and Sober,” “28 Days,” and “Girl, Interrupted,” along with dozens of made-for-TV-movies. We focus on one patient, Lyle (Joseph Gordon-Levitt of television’s “Third Rock from the Sun”). A court sentenced Lyle to the facility because he beat a fellow student with a baseball bat. At first, he is angry and uncooperative. But as he listens to a sympathetic doctor (Don Cheadle) and observes the other patients, he begins to allow himself to be open to acknowledging their feelings and his own.

Shooting on digital video gives the film a spareness and immediacy that works well with its subject. The writers and first-time director Jordan Melamed worked with the actors to develop their characters through improvisation and worked with psychologists and patients to ensure authenticity. The cast includes some former residents of juvenile mental facilities. The portrayals are all so natural and deeply felt that there are moments when it does not even feel like a documentary movie; it feels like we are watching something that is happening right now. Co-screenwriter Michael Bacall plays Chad, a bi-polar kid who is Lyle’s first friend. Zooey Deschanel is the fragile Tracey, Cody Lightning is the shy Kenny, Elden Henson is the angry Michael, and Cheadle is the doctor who has to find a way to make all of them feel accepted for who they are while encouraging them to change. All create characters who are distinct and believable.

The camera work feels amateurish at first until it becomes clear that it is intentional. Shaky, off-center shots replicate the fragile reality of the characters. As the movie continues and Lyle is able to encompass a psychological and metaphorical larger picture, the camera pulls back to give us the bigger picture as well. The final shot, the first real long shot we see in the movie, is very moving.

The kids in the Northwood Mental Institution are not that different from other teenagers. They feel the injustices of the world, especially those affecting them, very passionately. Their feelings overwhelm them. They are desperate for the love and approval of their families and angry because they do not have it. They are terrified of allowing themselves to be vulnerable. They fight any intimacy. They do not want to understand anyone else’s feelings because they might have to understand their own.

Teens who see this movie might feel that the biggest difference between the kids in the hospital and the people they know is not that they are any healthier, just luckier. And that’s a very good starting point for a talk with friends or family about handling emotions and responding to loss, injustice, and tragedy. One strength of the movie is the way it avoids an “aha” moment — there is never a scene where a patient suddenly remembers some childhood trauma and has a transforming epiphany. There is just a doctor who is a real human being with his own frustrations and flaws. He admits that Lyle may carry his rage forever but shows him that he can find a better way to handle it.

Parents should know that the movie has non-stop four-letter words. There are sexual references, including child molestation and rape. There is some violence, including one brief graphic scene that is very brutal. The movie has very strong minority characters and strong bonds between characters of different races.

Families who see this movie should talk about how they handle their angry impulses and what it is that gives their lives meaning. Does it help to have someone say “I’m sorry” even if it isn’t the one responsible? Does it help to be the one who says “I’m sorry?”

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy “David and Lisa,” showing how dramatically our understanding of mental illness has changed. They will also appreciate the understanding psychiatrists of “Captain Newman, MD.,” “Antwone Fisher,” and “The Three Faces of Eve.”

The Lizzie McGuire Movie

Posted on April 28, 2003 at 7:05 pm

B+
Lowest Recommended Age: Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
Profanity: None
Nudity/ Sex: Holding hands, sweet kiss
Alcohol/ Drugs: None
Violence/ Scariness: None
Diversity Issues: All major characters white
Date Released to Theaters: 2003

The squeals of joy from the audience began as soon as Hilary Duff’s name appeared in the credits and quickly escalated into sounds only dogs could hear as Duff, playing Lizzie McGuire, worked her way through guaranteed girl-pleasers: Lizzie is admired by a handsome international pop star, she gets a makeover and tries on a lot of wild clothes, she triumphs over the popular girl who insults her all the time, and she even gets to live a superstar dream with all her friends and family in the audience. That means that if you or someone you love is between the ages of 7-14, and especially of the female variety, then as those Borgs say in “Star Trek,” “Resistance is futile.”

Lizzie’s graduation from middle school becomes massively humiliating when she is called on as a last minute substitute speaker and trips so spectacularly that she brings down the backdrop on top of the entire graduating class. But she is looking forward to a trip to Rome with her friends, even though it is led by her new high school principal, Miss Ungermeyer (Alex Borstein), a woman with all the tactics and charm of a drill sergeant. Her spirits remain undimmed even when she finds out that Kate (Ashlie Brillault), a girl whose pleasure in being popular is nowhere near the pleasure of reminding Lizzie that she is not, will be coming along.

In Rome, Lizzie meets Paulo (Yani Gellman), a dreamy Italian teen pop idol who is mesmerized by her uncanny resemblance to his singing partner. She pretends to be sick so she can sneak out to tour Rome on the back of his Vespa, and he persuades her to pretend to be his partner on a live award broadcast. She feels like Cinderella. But she ends up learning some new things about old friends, and some old lessons about her new one.

It’s not really a movie. It’s just a 90-minute episode of the popular television show on the Disney channel, with some extra money in the budget to film on location in Rome. But we can be grateful that it is a nice, wholeome story created for an age group usually neglected by Hollywood. Duff has a warm, sweet presence and the use of a little animated Lizzie to comment on the action adds a liveliness to her adventures. I liked Lizzie’s relationship with best pal-who-just-might-be-more David Gordon (Adam Lamberg). And I liked the way that Lizzie’s friend-turned nemesis, Kate showed a little class and more than a little humility without getting sugary.

Parents should know that there is some mildly crude language. Lizzie’s brother and his best friend conspire to blackmail Lizzie and to sell embarrassing pictures of her. Lizzie and her friends lie so that she can spend time with Paulo. There is a very sweet kiss between people who care very much for each other. Lizzie wears a navel-baring outfit.

Families who see this movie should talk about whether people really do make their own luck, and how wishes can help. They should talk about the lies Lizzie, Kate, and Gordo told — which are worse? Should Lizzie have been suspicious when Paulo wanted her to deceive the audience? How did Lizzie decide whom she could trust? Paulo says everyone has trouble feeling confident — do you agree? Why do Miss Ungermeyer and Sergei speak of themselves in the third person? Do you agree that girls who act like they know everything are a “turn-off?”

Families who enjoy this movie might like to compare it to some of its inspirations, including “Gidget Goes to Rome,” and the syrupy classic with the Oscar-winning theme song, “Three Coins in the Fountain.” And every family should watch the utterly enchanting first leading performance by Audrey Hepburn in “Roman Holiday.”

X2: X-Men United

Posted on April 25, 2003 at 5:17 pm

A-
Lowest Recommended Age: 4th - 6th Grades
Profanity: Mild
Nudity/ Sex: Some kissing, some revealing outfits
Alcohol/ Drugs: Character smokes cigars
Violence/ Scariness: Intense action sequences and peril
Diversity Issues: A metaphorical theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters: 2003

It’s bigger, badder, and better than the first one, but in essence, what I said the first time applies to this one, too:

Let’s get right to the point. Extremely cool special effects? Check. Highly overqualified actors bringing Shakespearian line readings to comic book dialogue? Check. Highly attractive young stars bringing sensational bodies to skin-tight costumes? Check. Really fun action sequences, at least one involving a national landmark? Check. Just the right balance of irony, self-awareness, and oh, what the heck, check your brains at the door, grab some popcorn and let’s just go with it? Check. And did I mention the extremely cool special effects? Check!!

In other words, this is the summer movie for teenagers and anyone who’d like to pretend to be one, which is just what summer movies are all about.

This time it is the ubiquitous Brian Cox (of “Adaptation,” “The 25th Hour,” “The Ring,” and “The Rookie” in 2002 alone) as Colonel Stryker who wants to wipe out the mutants. Stryker and his soldiers invade the school run by wise and benevolent mutant Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart). They capture Xavier and some of the students. Stryker plans to use Xavier’s brain and the machine he developed to track down and destroy every mutant.

Meanwhile, Magneto (Ian McKellan) is in an enormous plastic prison, unable to use his powers because they require metal. The way metal is smuggled into him is highly original, to say the least. Once he is out, he has to work with Xavier’s mutants (the X-Men), his former enemies, to defeat Stryker.

This movie is all about the action, so it seems unfair to quibble about the fact that there are so many characters it is hard to include them all in anything meaningful, giving parts of the movie the feel of a prolongued introduction. The fans of the comics want to see every character up on the screen, and the movie tries to make it happen. But the result is that it is hard for people who are not familiar with the stories to keep everyone straight or develop much of a commitment to any of them. Halle Berry and Anna Paquin in particular are still criminally underused. The most memorable character is Mystique, played by Rebecca Romjin-Stamos, who is so good that she can even act under all that blue paint and those sequin-like scales. Alan Cummings is a welcome addition as Nightcrawler, but his German accent and Biblical references seem out of place and attracted some laughter from the audience. This is handled with more sensitivity in the comic books, where he is portrayed as a devout Catholic.

Parents should know that the movie has intense and graphic comic-book-style violence, including injury and death of characters. There are some mild sexual situations and references.

Families who see this movie should talk about the way the story uses the fights over the mutants as a metaphor for struggles over racism and other forms of bigotry. What are some of the real-life examples most like the debates over the mutants? Which characters and which powers are most appealing to you? They may also want to discuss the sacrifice one character makes to save the others.

Families who enjoy this movie should see the first one and they should read the comics as well as some of the classic comics that inspired them. It used to be that only comic books could create the kinds of fantasy stories that included superpowers and other worlds, and the comics of the 1930’s-40’s have some of the most imaginative and striking images ever created. They were an important influence on the movies, which did not catch up to them until the development of computer graphics in the 1990’s.

Families who like this movie will also enjoy other comic book-based movies like the “Batman” series and “Spiderman.”