Presumed Innocent (1990) * * * 1/2

Directed by:  Alan J. Pakula

Starring:  Harrison Ford, Raul Julia, Greta Scacchi, Bonnie Bedelia, Brian Dennehy, Paul Winfield

Rusty Sabich is the assistant district attorney of Kindle County charged with the murder of his colleague Carolyn Polhemus, with whom he once had an affair.   He appears guilty.   His fingerprints are all over a glass found in her apartment.    The blood type from semen taken from her diaphragm matches his.   There was a phone call from his house to her the night of the murder.    Sabich swears he is innocent and is a victim of a frame-up by political rivals who will be prosecuting the case.    Since those charged with crimes are entitled to their day in court, the cornerstone of the American legal system is that Sabich is presumed innocent until proven guilty.   In the minds of the public, Sabich could be written off as guilty, but the prosecution has to prove its case.   

Harrison Ford stars as Sabich and plays him as both an innocent man wrongly accused and as a possible murderer.    He is intense, so much so that his boss DA Raymond Horgan (Dennehy) says, "You always had the cork in too tight."    He also obsesses over the beautiful, but self-serving Carolyn.     She dumps Rusty after he refuses to run for DA against Raymond, thus thwarting her plans for rising power in the office.     Rusty, like a lovelorn teenager, continues to pursue Carolyn to no avail.    Did this lead to murder?    Could his obsession have taken a wrong turn that night in her apartment?   Rusty, who was initially chosen to lead the investigation, also makes moves that make his guilt even more apparent.   

Sabich is defended by Sandy Stern (Julia), a brilliant courtroom strategist who doesn't want Rusty to testify.    He believes the jury would be swayed in the wrong manner by his testimony.   Stern believes it will give the prosecution the motive they had been lacking since there was no evidence that Rusty and Carolyn ever had an affair.    Julia relishes his scenes and does especially great work in his cross-examination of the medical examiner who performed Carolyn's autopsy    Equally brilliant is Paul Winfield as Judge Little, who frankly reminds all parties who is in charge in his courtroom.    Bonnie Bedelia is supportive as Rusty's long-suffering wife who knew of her husband's infidelity.   "She's dead and you're still obsessing," she frets to Rusty.

Presumed Innocent never fails to be compelling.   It is a superior example of a courtroom procedural.  Courtroom dramas are inherently suspenseful because someone's life is at stake and at the whims of evidence and possibly unreliable witnesses.    Then, there is the unpredictability of the jury, which may see things differently than anyone else.    If you don't believe that, then think about the OJ Simpson murder trial.     When the murderer is revealed, it is somewhat surprising but also isn't, so it wouldn't qualify as a swerve thrown in to shock us.     The clues were there, but no one took time to see them.     Anchoring this is Ford, who finds himself in a situation that he can never truly free himself from.    "There is a crime, there is a victim, and there is punishment,"  he states in voiceover narration at the end.     We know exactly what he means. 

Meet The Parents (2000) * *

Directed by:  Jay Roach

Starring:  Robert DeNiro, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Owen Wilson, Blythe Danner

Greg Focker is a male nurse living with a loving woman named Pam.   He plans to propose to her, but first must meet her parents, who are Jack and Dina Byrnes.    Jack is a no-nonsense former CIA agent who immediately thinks Greg is full of crap and Dina is his wife who has patiently accepted her husband's faults.   Jack (DeNiro) speaks about a "circle of trust" and doesn't believe Greg should be a part of it.    This comes from a guy who posed as a flower shop owner as his CIA cover.    

Meet The Parents is a one-joke movie, told over and over again in varying ways, but the punch line is the same.     Greg tells a fib to ingratiate himself, but Jack calls him on it and Greg has to figure a way to squirm out of his lie.    Greg also screws up when handling Jack's mother's ashes or playing pool volleyball, in which a spike goes awry.    Most of Meet The Parents is uncomfortable, not funny, but maybe that's the point and I'm just missing it.    Regardless, it didn't work for me.    There are many top quality actors who do the best they can, but watching Greg repeatedly humiliate himself becomes tiresome.   There is little else that goes on. 

Predictably, Jack realizes he's being a prick and offers Greg an olive branch near the end.    This feels tacked on.   It forces a happy face on an otherwise grim comedy.    Some comedies thrive on presenting uncomfortable situations but how they're presented makes the difference.   I think back to A Fish Called Wanda, in which John Cleese's character has uncomfortable situations thrust upon him.   He's just a bumbling lawyer in love with a woman who is using him to find out the location of missing diamonds.    He tries his damnedest to lay low, but trouble finds him.    Greg Focker is a rather slow study.    He fails to understand that he is a terrible liar and he will be caught.    He puts himself into these situations so often that you would think he'd know better after the fifth or sixth try.

Meet The Parents spawned two sequels, both of which at least tried to expand the horizons of the original.     Meet The Fockers introduced Greg's parents, both of which were able to put Jack in his place at long last.   Little Fockers was an unnecessary third film which tried to squeeze every dime out of the franchise that it could.     Both sequels introduced plenty of plays on the last name Focker, but I think they should've quit while they were behind.  

Wanderlust (2012) *

Directed by:  David Wain

Starring:  Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, Alan Alda, Justin Theroux, Malin Akerman

As the end credits rolled on Wanderlust, I thought about the large number of scripts that were rejected in favor of this one.   I thought about how movie studios should be more cautious with their money.   I thought about why anyone involved in this production thought this was a finished product worth showing to the public.     I thought and thought and came up with no answers.     Wanderlust is a comedy dead zone.    I get what I deserve, though, since the tagline states, "From the makers of Role Models" and that was a movie that didn't work for me.   I should've known to stay away.

Wanderlust stars actors whom in the right roles can be very appealing, but there are no right roles here.    Paul Rudd stars as George, who is married to Linda (Aniston) and they find their world turned upside down when the bank Rudd works for goes belly up.    They are forced to move from New York to live with George's overbearing brother down South.    On the way, the couple stumbles across a commune which promotes free love, peace, health foods, and even in some cases public nudity by a commune member you wish wouldn't promote it.    George and Linda take a liking to the place mostly because the script requires it.    Wanderlust seems to think that the goofballs who occupy the commune are funny and do funny things, but that's a colossal miscalculation.     If I were around these people for longer than one hour, I'd be plotting my escape.

There is more to this than just the fish-out-of-water aspects.    Apparently, there is a dispute over ownership of the commune's land and the county will take over if the owner (Alda) can't produce the deed.    We can't have that, so the group gains public support by acting like putzes for local news stories.    Uh huh.   So the commune joins together to save the land, which is an underwhelming resolution to an already very underwhelming movie.    In the meantime, the temptation by other sexy people at the commune put a strain on George and Linda's marriage.    There is one scene in which Paul Rudd talks to the mirror in preparation for putting the moves on a sexy girl.   He talks about how he would like to do things to her vagina and goes on and on painfully.    I was embarrassed for Rudd after a while, even if he wasn't.  

Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux, who co-stars, are an item now and apparently they met while filming Wanderlust.    At least something good came from the filming and I'm sure the tabloids are thankful, but I can't imagine either person looking back on Wanderlust as anything other than a lapse in judgment for taking part in such a pathetic exercise.     Maybe it was funnier on paper.   If so, that's where it should've stayed. 

La Bamba (1987) * * *

Directed by:  Luis Valdez

Starring:  Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, Joe Pantoliano, Rosanna De Soto, Elizabeth Pena, Danielle Von Zerneck

Ritchie Valens was a Southern California high schooler who had recorded three top 40 hits in 1958 and died in the same plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper on February 3, 1959.    If the film is to believed, Valens had a fear of flying which stemmed from a childhood friend killed by falling plane debris.   Valens wasn't present when his friend was killed, but he imagines it in flashbacks as if he were.    It seems almost fitting that he would die in a plane crash.

La Bamba is named after Valens' signature hit, which is sung in Spanish even though Valens himself didn't speak Spanish.     He died as his career was taking off.     How long would his career have lasted?    Would he have been able to make the transition from 1950's teen idol to a rocker who played at Woodstock?    We will never know.     La Bamba makes the most out of Valens' short life with a spirited performance by Lou Diamond Phillips as Valens.  

Valens was born Richard Valenzuela and moves to the San Fernando Valley with his mother and older half-brother Bob (Esai Morales).    They live in the barrio, but Ritchie sees a way out with his music.    He joins a local band, but he is discovered by local record producer named Bob Keane (Pantoliano) who wants him to be a solo artist.    During the recording of what would be his first hit, "Come On Let's Go", Richard Valenzuela is christened "Ritchie Valens" by Keane.  "You could've been Ricky Zuela," Keane says. 

Sooner than you can say "Come On Let's Go", Ritchie becomes a rising star.    He meets and falls in love with Donna, a local girl with a father who isn't fond of Hispanics.    It is she who inspires Ritchie's next hit, "Donna".    Ritchie's sudden fame doesn't sit very easily with his alcoholic older brother, who resents his good fortune.   Bob believes their mother loved Ritchie more and occasionally acts out with loutish behavior towards his pregnant girlfriend Rosie (Pena) and Ritchie himself.    I don't know if this plotline was based on fact or if it was inserted in for dramatic purposes, but it adds an element of drama to La Bamba.

Phillips doesn't sing in the film (Valens' songs are performed by Los Lobos), but he performs convincingly and with energy.    His youthful look belies the fact that in real life he is older than Esai Morales, who plays his older sibling.    Morales is also strong as a young man who can't help but put his pain on full display for all to see.   He tries in vain to make something of himself by winning a local art contest, but he is more content to be pissed off at Ritchie even though he loves him.
Joe Pantoliano is his usual solid self as Keane, who knows what it takes to make it in the music business and wants to steer Ritchie in the right direction. 

La Bamba is told joyfully and with style by writer-director Luis Valdez.   I'm quite certain many elements were altered for elevated drama, but it works well enough anyway.    It's tough to resist a film that is ultimately about a life ending just when it seemed it was getting started.   

Gangster Squad (2013) * *

Directed by:  Ruben Fleischer

Starring:  Josh Brolin, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Anthony Mackie, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, Michael Pena

Gangster Squad is practically a remake of The Untouchables.  I was even able to figure out which two squad members were going to die based on how The Untouchables unfolded.     I was correct.   The film has all of the trappings of a good noir crime drama, including a top notch cast.    What it doesn't have is much juice.    It has a curious lack of energy considering all the activity that takes place.  

Gangster Squad takes place in 1949 Los Angeles.    Chicago gangster Mickey Cohen aims to take over Los Angeles as part of his "manifest destiny".    Soon the city is gripped with terror and the mostly corrupt police stand by and do little to stop it.    Cohen wants no help from Chicago either and kills one Chicago mobster by tying him to two different cars which are then pulled in opposite directions.   Enter Sgt. John O'Mara (Brolin), a World War II veteran who, in voiceover narration, speaks about the need for good men to do something in times like these.    He singlehandedly raids a Cohen-run brothel and makes several arrests.    This gains the LAPD positive publicity and catches the eye of Chief Parker (Nolte), who has tried in vain to bring down Cohen's operation but now thinks O'Mara is the right guy to help him.    Parker asks O'Mara to put together a "gangster squad" which will operate with no official LAPD knowledge in breaking up Cohen's organization.    

In The Untouchables, Eliot Ness had a pregnant wife and in Gangster Squad, O'Mara does too.    She frets naturally that her husband may lose his life, but she also assists him in picking his squad, which includes a womanizing cop Jerry Wooters (Gosling), a veteran crack shot (Patrick), a technology geek (Ribisi), a Hispanic cop (Pena), and a black cop who patrols streets where heroin deals are rampant (Mackie).    Aside from Wooters, who is bedding Cohen's mistress Grace (Stone), none of these squad members are developed into much as characters.     O'Mara is a stern, humorless leader who confesses to a colleague that without fighting, he doesn't know what to do with himself.

Sean Penn has the look of someone who has been through some wars (Cohen was a former boxer).   He barks orders and acts mercilessly towards anybody who screws up.    Why anyone would want to work for Cohen is a mystery, since he lacks any sort of charm and kills anyone who looks at him crooked.    Is the money really worth dealing with a guy like Cohen?    Since Cohen's boxing past is referred to frequently, it comes as no shock that his final showdown vs. O'Mara is a fistfight.    It's another of those instances in which a character has another at gunpoint and decides to throw the gun away and fight mano y mano.    This has become a tired cliche. 

I don't know if the similarity to The Untouchables was intentional, but I felt I was watching a lesser version of the 1987 film.     The difference is Cohen is arrested for murder here and the ending narration by Brolin hints that Cohen met his end in Alcatraz.    In reality, Cohen was convicted of tax evasion and died of cancer in 1976 shortly after being released from prison.     Maybe Cohen's fate was changed so Gangster Squad didn't seem like a remake.    Regardless, Gangster Squad has a strong cast and so-so material you've seen before and better.

Parker (2013) * 1/2

Directed by:  Taylor Hackford

Starring:  Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte, Michael Chiklis

Thank goodness my brother was watching this movie with me.    About 20 minutes in, he started pointing out all of the absurdities that Parker had to offer.    There were a lot of them.    We all started laughing as if Parker was an uproarious comedy, even though it's an action film.     I must confess, though, that if my brother weren't present, I likely would've sat in my chair and tried my best to get through Parker and move on.    Parker is a by-the-numbers action film with little to care about, including its hero.

Jason Statham seems to have a movie starring him released every two months.    I've seen a few and they didn't register much with me, although I did enjoy him in The Italian Job.    Statham simply doesn't have the charisma to be an action film lead.    He takes this dreck entirely too seriously.    Arnold Schwarzenegger knew how to elevate dreck with sly humor and an engaging personality.    Statham looks tough and knows all the moves, but he's better off in a supporting role and not having to carry the load.   

In the film,  Parker is a thief who, after leading a heist which nets his crew $200,000 each, is betrayed and left for dead on the side of the road.    The crew has connections to high-level mafia guys, but this matters little to Parker, who is looking for his money back and some revenge.    Parker's former partner, played by Nick Nolte, fears for Parker and offers to pay him the $200,000 to stop him, but Parker is a man of principle and wants the money from the guys themselves.     Parker takes quite a beating over his principles.    I wonder if at any time he thought he should've taken Nolte up on his offer.

Parker tracks the crew to Palm Beach, Florida, which is full of rich people and "8 cops for every person".    These cops are conveniently absent as things explode, cars are wrecked, and people get shot up.   Parker searches for his enemies under the guise of a rich Texas businessman looking for real estate.    He fits right in with his two-day old stubble, ten gallon cowboy hat, and a Southern accent which sounds just like Statham's native cockney British accent.     How do guys in these movies keep that stubble anyway?     How do beards never grow?   

Among this mess is the arrival of Jennifer Lopez as a real estate agent who volunteers to help Parker in his scheme.    Her character is mostly unnecessary, except as someone to be taken hostage by the bad guys.    Another odd issue is Parker's girlfriend, who is Nolte's daughter.    I assume she is Parker's girlfriend, but she spends most of the movie in hiding except to show up on cue when Parker needs a nurse to take care of his myriad wounds.     Not much happens with Lopez either, except for one kiss.   Statham isn't really much of a romantic lead anyway.   He gets his kicks from bending guys arms the wrong way and shooting people.

What's even more puzzling about Parker is that an esteemed director like Taylor Hackford would helm it.    Hackford has made plenty of good films, such as The Idolmaker, An Officer and A Gentleman, Ray, The Devil's Advocate, and Proof Of Life.    What about Parker attracted him to the project?    I could go on and on about all of the silly plot points that my brother helpfully pointed out and turned the experience of viewing Parker into a tolerable one.     But that doesn't make Parker an entertaining film.    It makes my brother an entertaining comedian.

The Break-Up (2006) * * *

Directed by:  Peyton Reed

Starring:  Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Aniston, Jon Favreau, Joey Lauren Adams, Judy Davis, Vincent D'Onofrio, John Michael Higgins

Things go south quickly for Gary and Brooke, who one minute are hosting a dinner party for their families and the next are breaking up because Brooke feels unappreciated and Gary doesn't do much to dissuade her opinion.     Their meeting and courtship is shown in photos over the opening credits with Queen's "You're My Best Friend" playing on the soundtrack.    As the breakup gets uglier, we see more that they aren't meant to be together.    To the film's credit, it doesn't force a happy ending on us with a last-minute reconciliation.    Things play out as they should.    After all, it wouldn't be right to have these two spend 90 minutes of the movie doing everything to stay apart and the last 10 minutes trying to get us to ignore the first 90.

Gary (Vaughn) is a tour guide for a tour company run by his brother Dennis (D'Onofrio), who is all over Gary about keeping his tour logs up to date.    He is an avid Cubs fan who records the games and makes a mess of the living room.   Brooke works at an art gallery for the sophisticated and somewhat wacky Marilyn Dean (Davis).    Things seem to be OK with the couple in the beginning as they prepare for the dinner party, even though Gary only bought Brooke 4 lemons when she required 12 for a garnish she was making.    After the dinner party, which was complete with Brooke's brother Richard (Higgins) leading the table in an a capella version of "Owner Of A Lonely Heart", Brooke is furious when Gary doesn't help in cleaning up and this escalates to a nasty break-up.    "I want to be with someone who gives a shit," Brooke tells Gary before calling him a prick.

The two are forced to share their condo until they can sell it.    Jason Bateman plays their mutual friend/realtor who informs them matter-of-factly, "I would sell this place without taking a commission, but my company policy forces me to take one."    He's all heart.    As it becomes clearer that Gary and Brooke won't be reconciling, we get a glimpse of why they should be apart.    Gary is a nice guy, but self-absorbed and takes Brooke for granted.    "You do what you want to do," Gary's friend Johnny O (Favreau) says, "When was the last time we went to a White Sox game?  And the Sox playing against the Cubs doesn't count."  

It's clear they have outgrown each other.   They attempt to change things, but it's too late.    The Break-Up, by the way, is a comedy with some serious elements.      It doesn't get slapsticky or sitcomish.    In fact, the tone is rather somber, which is appropriate for a film about the ending of a long relationship.     Gary and Brooke have their shortcomings, but as played by Vaughn and Aniston are intelligent, nice people who fall out of love sometimes painfully.     John Michael Higgins as Aniston's brother is the leader of an a capella singing group called "The Tone Rangers."    Just that name alone is the comedy gift that keeps on giving. 

A Few Good Men (1992) * * * 1/2

Directed by:  Rob Reiner

Starring:  Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, JT Walsh

A Few Good Men is an above average courtroom drama focusing on the deadly hazing of a ne'er-do-well Marine at the Guatanamo Bay base.  Two Marines perform a "code red" on a hapless private which results in his accidental death.  A code red is a Marine term for extrajudicial punishment used by Marines to police themselves.  The Marines are charged with murder, but insist the code red was carried out on orders of their superior Lt. Jonathan Kendrick (Sutherland).   Kendrick and base commander Col. Jessup (Nicholson) claim they ordered the private not to be disciplined and the two Marines acted of their own accord.  

Because Jessup is soon to be appointed to a top-level government position, the Washington JAG corps wants the case assigned to plea-bargain happy attorney Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Cruise).  The original attorney assigned to the case, Lt. Joanne Galloway (Moore) believes in her clients' innocence and urges Kaffee to make a case, which is something very much outside his comfort zone.   Kaffee would rather cop a plea for his clients and go on coaching the local softball team.     His clients would prefer to be judged than accept a plea bargain, much to the consternation of Kaffee, who wishes they would make his life easier by agreeing to six months in jail.

As evidence presents itself, Kaffee becomes convinced that the Marines' story may hold water and decides to allow them their day in court.   Kaffee's father was a famed trial lawyer and casts a large shadow over his son.  At first, Kaffee shrinks from the challenge of having such a famous father, but then rises to the occasion.  Cruise is authoritative and effective as the attorney who learns how to actually be a lawyer, especially in the face of intimidating Col. Jessup, who defends his methods ferociously and fearlessly: "I run my unit how I run my unit.   You want to investigate me?  Roll the dice and take your chances. I eat breakfast every morning 300 yards from 4,000 Cubans who are trained to kill me." 

The Marines, especially Kendrick and Jessup, deal in absolutes.  Orders are always followed and should never be questioned.   This makes it is somewhat easy for the defense team to trap them in lies.    "They are fanatical about being Marines," says Galloway.   Soon it becomes apparent that Jessup may have been the source behind the code red order to Kendrick.  This results in the final courtroom showdown between Kaffee and Jessup, which results in the famed "You can't handle the truth" speech by Jessup.    Nicholson is gruff and arrogant as Jessup, resulting from years of Marine Corps life and his belief that the ends justify the means.  It's thrilling to watch as Kaffee gets under Jessup's skin.   

A Few Good Men is not a deep drama, but it takes the inherent suspense of courtroom drama and heightens it with craftsmanship and strong performances.     Director Reiner knows how to move scenes along swiftly.    The film is more famous for many of Jessup's lines, but it rises above a generic genre picture and delivers in entertaining fashion.    

Dodge Ball: A True Underdog Story (2004) * * * 1/2

Directed by:  Rawson Marshall Thurber

Starring:  Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, Rip Torn, Alan Tudyk, Justin Long, Stephen Root

Sure we've seen the story a million times.    A team of misfits band together and rise up to defeat their evil nemeses in the big game.    This has been done in baseball, football, basketball, hockey, etc., but dodge ball?    Dodge Ball: A True Underdog Story is very funny because it skewers sports movie cliches while actually making the playground game interesting as a team game.   I played dodge ball in gym class when I was in third grade, but I don't recall it being this complex.   

Vince Vaughn stars as Pete Lafleur, a lazy gym owner who doesn't keep any financial records and doesn't even bother charging monthly dues to the gym's five members.    To him, the second and third or even fourth request to pay the gym's mortgage are mere guidelines.    His gym is called Average Joe's and its members are loyal goofballs.    Maybe that's because he doesn't charge them to use his gym.   "If I don't set expectations, I find I can never be disappointed," is Pete's motto.    He tries to impress the bank's beautiful financial auditor Kate (Taylor) with this line.    She can't make any headway trying to sort out the pile of papers that passes for his financial records.

Across the street is Globo Gym, run by the fitness maniac White Goodman (Stiller), who speaks as if he's trying to master Dirty Harry's voice modulation.    He has a daily battle with junk food temptation, even giving himself electric shocks whenever he puts a piece of pizza too close to his mouth.    Goodman wants to take over Average Joe's and convert it to a parking lot.    His gym holds the bank note on Average Joe's and hires Kate to audit Pete's records.   Goodman also tries inappropriate pick-up lines with her to no avail.   

In order to save Average Joe's, one of the members discovers a team dodge ball tournament which can net enough prize money to save the gym from a takeover.    With a reluctant Pete in tow, the group enlists the help of legendary dodge ball superstar Patches O' Houlihan (Torn) to train them and try and win the tournament in Las Vegas.    Just to drive the shiv into Pete a little further, Goodman forms his own team consisting of muscular meatheads.     Kate joins Pete's team after she is fired for rejecting Goodman's pathetic advances.   

There are plenty of funny moments here.   O' Houlihan's training regimen consists of having his charges duck wrenches being thrown at them.   The Las Vegas tournament is presented on ESPN 8 ("The Ocho") and commentary is provided by the deadpan Gary Cole and the spaced-out Jason Bateman, who both manage satirize sports commentators and embrace them at the same time.    Back in 2004, eight ESPN channels was the joke.   Today, ESPN probably has surpassed that number of channels for all I know.  Then there's Average Joe's teammate Steve (Tudyk), who inexplicably dresses as and speaks like a pirate.   And let's not forget the bar the teams hang out in, called The Dirty Sanchez, complete with a large neon sign.   

I laughed often watching Dodge Ball.   Vince Vaughn plays against type as the lazy Pete who underplays everything.   Stiller is the uptight villain who may or may not finally lose his battle against junk food.   Rip Torn snarls as he drills the 5 D's of dodge ball into his trainees.    Two of the D's stand for dodge.   He even theorizes that Kate is a lesbian.    Who knew a dodge ball legend could be so intuitive about human nature?   Or even that there was such a thing as a dodge ball legend?

Hyde Park On Hudson (2012) * *

Directed by:  Roger Michell

Starring:  Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Williams

I can't imagine a man like Franklin Delano Roosevelt would ever be elected President today.    People would see the frail man in a wheelchair and vote for the slicker, healthy looking candidate.    Roosevelt guided the US through a Depression and World War II and died on April 12, 1945 after a cerebral hemmorhage.   Being President, coupled with the lingering effects of polio, took an incalculable toll on him physically and mentally.   

Roosevelt was also known for having affairs.   Hyde Park On Hudson is a look at this side of FDR, although the political one was more interesting.    Married to Eleanor, his infidelity was seen as just one of those things you have to deal with.    Eleanor and FDR seemed to have an understanding in their marriage, possibly because Eleanor was rumored to be a lesbian, although no evidence of that is seen here.     Hyde Park On Hudson is genial, pleasant, but not compelling.   

The story is told by a woman named Daisy, who is a distant cousin of the President and lives near his summer home in upstate New York.   Her real name is Margaret Suckley.   Eleanor was also a distant cousin FYI.   She is summoned to the home by FDR and the two hit it off.    Soon they are taking drives in the countryside and Daisy gives the Prez a hand job.    Even though it is known throughout the house that Daisy is yet another of FDR's lovers, she is kept on the sidelines as the President prepares to host King George VI of England and his wife Elizabeth.    The king and FDR meet in the hopes of becoming allies for the impending war with Germany.    They hit it off well, with King George able to put aside British stuffiness to enjoy Roosevelt and his jokes.    However, the royal couple hesitates at the thought of eating hot dogs at the picnic planned in their honor.     Of course, the King stutters occasionally, but that ground was better covered in The King's Speech. 

Daisy falls for FDR, but other than the handjob and some country drives in his car, there isn't much chemistry between them.    Daisy speaks of the great passion they shared in voiceover narration, but it is not presented onscreen.     She becomes angry when it is revealed that she is not FDR's only mistress, but it seems forced.    Laura Linney is a pretty actress with great skills, but she can only do so much with a role that's underwritten.  

Bill Murray is nearly unrecognizable in his portrayal.    Even as leader of the free world, he has a hard time contending with his domineering mother and wife.     As portrayed by Murray, FDR is likable and sometimes charismatic, but he can't overcome the thin material either.     Hyde Park Hudson tells this story without allowing us to feel it or truly get inside it.    Most of the time, we feel like Daisy must've felt:  So close to the legendary President, yet so far.     

Rocky IV (1985) * *

Directed by:  Sylvester Stallone

Starring:  Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Carl Weathers, Burt Young, Talia Shire, Brigitte Nielsen

It's official with this film.   Rocky Balboa is no longer human, but a superhero who withstands punishment that would likely kill any other man, only to come back and stand tall for America.    Rocky IV was released during the Cold War period when things were beginning to thaw between the Superpowers.    That doesn't prevent Stallone for trotting out a Soviet villain named Ivan Drago (Lundgren) who exists as a symbol with no personality except to sneer and say hateful things in the one or two scenes of dialogue he has.   The rest of his talking is done by his wife (Nielsen) and his trainer (Michael Pataki), who rile up the crowd at press conferences by spewing even more anti-American vitriol.     I think it wouldn't be wise for a Soviet fighter to speak which such hatred towards Americans, but realism is the last thing anyone thinks of here. 

One of the bigger issues in Rocky IV is Drago is built up as so strong and powerful that the entire fight with Rocky can no longer be believed.    A computer helpfully displays Drago's punching power as somewhere around 2000 pounds per square inch, or something like that.    By that standard, he should be able to crush any human being's skull with one punch.    He kills Rocky's friend Apollo Creed in a Las Vegas exhibition match after landing a series of head and face shots, yet Rocky is somehow able to withstand 15 rounds of them.    Is Rocky's face and skull made of something other than bone and flesh?    Yes, it is well documented that Rocky is a fighter with plenty of heart and courage, but that can't outduel the laws of physics and human anatomy.

I know I'm supposed to just shut up and enjoy the fight.   But because Drago is such a cartoon supervillain and is not presented as human, I was aware at all times of how ludicrous the showdown was.   Plus, if memory serves, this epic fight between titans representing the US and Soviet Union was broadcast on the USA Network, which back in 1985 was a fledgling cable network at best.    You would think HBO would've been able to get dibs on this battle.    Oh, and the fight takes place in Moscow and the Soviet crowd becomes rabid Rocky fans by about Round 8.   Rocky was able to win them over while remaining a glorified punching bag.     He somehow knocks out Drago in the fifteenth round and then gives a ridiculous post-match speech saying how things can change between the Soviets and Americans.    I'm amazed his brains weren't scrambled eggs by this time.  

So we have the fourth installment in a series that clearly lost its legs.  I didn't hate it and there are moments of action which work,  but Rocky Balboa isn't a superhero and never should be portrayed as one.    By the time Rocky IV rolled around, he was about as human as Drago.   The only difference is he wore the American flag trunks. 

Rocky V (1990) * * 1/2

Directed by:  John G. Avildsen

Starring:  Sylvester Stallone, Tommy Morrison, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Richard Gant, Sage Stallone

Rocky V tries in vain to recreate the magic of the original.   It even has the same director as the first Rocky.  After his brutal fight with Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, he learns he suffered irreversible brain damage and must retire from the ring.   His accountants bilk him for every cent he has because his brother-in-law Paulie (Young) unwittingly signed over power of attorney to them.    Broke, he returns to live in a row home with his family in Philly after years of living high on the hog as heavyweight champion.     Rocky even speaks like he did in the first film after consecutive films in which Rocky seemed to get smarter with every beating.

Although Rocky is beloved in the old neighborhood, his son Robert (Sage Stallone) is bullied at his new school.   Adrian takes a part-time job at the old pet store where she worked when she met Rocky.    Paulie continues to be soused, although it would've been satisfying to see Rocky punch him at least once for his stupid mistake.   Rocky runs the gym left to him by his former trainer Mickey when he died.    Rock soon crosses paths with a hulking young boxer named Tommy Gunn (Morrison-a real life boxer) who begs Rocky to train him.    Rocky obliges and it's kind of funny to hear him tell Tommy during a sparring session, "It's not against the law to duck."   Gunn has raw punching power, but lacks guidance which Rocky provides at the expense of his family.    Soon enough, Gunn runs his pro boxing record up to 22-0 and catches the eye of promoter George Washington Duke (Gant).   Duke tried in vain to lure Rocky out of retirement and drives a wedge between he and Gunn in order to get Rocky back in the ring. 

Of course, a showdown between Gunn and Rocky is the only way the movie could end, but it's done in the form of a street fight rather than in the ring.    More on that in a minute.    Until that point, Rocky V is a superficial attempt to return to ground better covered in the initial Rocky.   The geography is the same, but the characters have been through three movies in between and no longer have their originality.    In Rocky III, IV, and V, Adrian serves no other purpose except to watch as her husband puts himself or his family at risk and then cures everything with one lecture.    Rocky V is the first of the movies to feature son Robert in a larger role.   He is bullied, learns to fight back without the help of his father (who is busy training Gunn), and bitterly resents his father for paying more attention to Gunn.   Strangely, even though the actors are real life father and son, the scenes lack juice.   Morrison handles himself well as the wide-eyed young boxer with a mean streak who falls under the spell of Duke and his promises of riches.   Duke is a dead ringer for Don King except he doesn't have a gray afro.   He even says "Only In America" a few times in case we didn't remember who he was modeled after.

Rocky and Gunn duke it out in a streetfight in which both are bloodied and hit each other so many times that they both should've been out cold long before the fight ended.     The fight is quickly put on television apparently as a breaking news story, but curiously no police show up until the end, when Gunn is taken into custody after being knocked out.   Why is Gunn the only one arrested?   Wasn't Rocky the other half of the fight?   I understand the fight isn't meant to be seen realistically, but I actually wouldn't have minded seeing Rocky get in the ring one more time.    Rocky V has some enjoyable moments, but it never gains much traction.   Instead, I was left wanting more of what made Rocky so special.    Five films have diluted the power of these characters. 

Rocky III (1982) * * *

Directed by:  Sylvester Stallone

Starring:  Sylvester Stallone, Mr. T, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith

Circa 1988, I listed Rocky III among my ten favorite films.    25 years later, I consider it the third best of the Rocky series.    However, it is still fun although it doesn't have the engaging dialogue and power of Rocky nor the excitement of Rocky II.    Rocky III is the first in the series to show Rocky as a superhero who must take down the evil fighter looking to knock his block off.    Here, the number one contender Rocky must conquer is Clubber Lang (Mr. T), a ferocious knockout artist complete with a sneer and mohawk.  

Six years have passed since the initial film and Rocky is still heavyweight champion.    He easily dispatches his opponents over 10 title defenses, gaining popularity, celebrity, and wealth.    As Lang destroys foe after foe, he starts publicly challenging Rocky with insults and taunts.    Rocky's manager Mickey (Meredith) fears Lang, believing that Rocky has grown soft and would be annihilated by his mohawked challenger in quick fashion.     Rocky believes he can win, but Mickey bursts his balloon by telling Rocky that his recent opponents were hand-picked chumps who posed no real threat to him.    They agree to the fight, but while Rocky's public workouts are spectacles, Lang trains intensely in dark gyms pounding the hell out of a bag and doing countless pullups while grunting loudly.  

Right before the fight, Mickey suffers a heart attack and soon a distraught Rocky is pulverized in two rounds by his challenger.    Lang knew Rocky was a beaten man during the pre-match staredown.  "I looked in his eyes.  He's scared."   Mickey dies right after the loss and the mourning Rocky is approached by his foe from Rocky and Rocky II, Apollo Creed (Weathers).   Creed is retired, but misses the fight game and agrees to train Rocky for his rematch with Lang.   Rocky's training goes poorly at first, due to his lack of confidence and focus.    But after a heartfelt talk with Adrian, Rocky picks up the pace and becomes a lean, mean fighting machine.

Both of the fights in this film (not counting the "charity" match with wrestler Thunderlips (Hulk Hogan)) are brief compared to the 15-round epic battles between Rocky and Apollo.    Considering more punches are thrown in two rounds of Rocky III's fights than in most real boxing matches, it's just as well they only last a few rounds.   Rocky even adopts the "rope a dope" style made famous by Muhammad Ali during his 1975 fight with George Foreman.    However, I'm sure against a bonecruncher like Lang such a style is ill-advised.  

Clubber Lang is a one-dimensional, though entertaining villain.   Mr. T's acting style fits the character like a glove.   In Rocky III, most of the characters are not seen through.   Adrian shows up in a few tender scenes, but is otherwise unnecessary.    Paulie (Burt Young) is a soused whiner who should be grating on everyone's nerves after a while.    Rocky's battle with his self-confidence isn't quite as convincing as the personal struggles he dealt with in the first two movies.    Rocky III wasn't written to further explore the characters or add any additional depth.   It is more a fun, slick production for the dawn of the early 80's MTV generation.   The opening montage of Rocky's fights is set to the tune of Survivor's "Eye Of The Tiger", making it essentially a music video (back when MTV played such things). 

I enjoyed Rocky III mostly because the fights are entertaining and Mr. T has some neat one-liners like "I pity the fool" which became his signature catchphrase.    It is polished and engages on a superficial level.   Plus, it is satisfying to see Lang get his comeuppance. 

Rocky (1976) * * * *

Directed by:  John G. Avildsen

Starring:  Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burgess Meredith, Carl Weathers, Burt Young

Rocky isn't simply a boxing movie.    Rocky Balboa doesn't even expect to win his once-in-a-lifetime shot at the heavyweight title.     He expresses to his girlfriend Adrian in a tender moment that he just wants to go the distance with his opponent, the brash and colorful Apollo Creed.     Creed is certainly modeled after Muhammad Ali, with his showmanship, ego, and mouth on full display here.    Balboa is chosen as Creed's next opponent mostly because of his nickname "The Italian Stallion" and as a publicity stunt.    Creed has no idea of the fight he is in for.

Rocky remains the best in the series which spanned six movies.    Four of the six were good to very good entertainments.   Rocky IV and V were the weakest of the series, but they do have their moments.    As the series progressed, Rocky Balboa went from proud, flawed, and wounded pug to a superhero who could absorb untold amounts of punishment and still win in the end.    He also became smarter somehow, until at least Rocky V.   Rocky Balboa was never meant to be superhero.    He works better in Rocky as a loner who falls in love with Adrian, a shy local girl (Shire) and pals around with meat factory worker Paulie (Young).     Rocky isn't super articulate, but he's smart and is able to explain things in a manner that makes sense to him.    When asked why he loves Adrian, he replies, "I have gaps, she has gaps.  We fill gaps."    He knows what he needs to know. 

Rocky is full of characters teeming with life and humanity.    Rocky's trainer, Mickey (Meredith), is an old former boxer who never sniffed the opportunity that fell into Rocky's lap.    Adrian is shy, wounded, always taking care of her brother Paulie, but in a wonderful scene she finally stands up to Paulie and redefines their relationship.    Paulie is an angry loser who thinks the world owes him a living, but fully supports his friend.    Another interesting character is Duke, Apollo Creed's manager (Tony Evers), who makes it known in a few sentences that choosing Rocky as an opponent may not have been wise.    "He doesn't think it's a show.   He thinks it's a damn fight."   

The film takes place in the cold, desolate South Philly winter.    Rocky trains for his title shot on the city's deserted streets at ungodly early morning hours.    I love that Rocky is populated with such authentic flavor.    It is more interested in its characters, although the celebrated fight generates tremendous suspense.     Rocky goes out to fight and leaves Adrian in the locker room, thinking he will be returning shortly.    But as round after round progresses, there are cutaways to Adrian sitting patiently for her man.     She has no idea what is happening in the ring, but just knows that Rocky hasn't come back yet.     The fight is brutal, long, bloody, and becomes a test of will for both fighters.     It's baffling how they can stand such brutality, but after the final bell, Rocky reunites with Adrian in the ring and hugs her.    The triumphant music plays not because Rocky wins (he doesn't), but because he reached his goal and was able to share it with the one he loves.     That's enough for him and us. 

Religulous (2008) * * *

Directed by:  Larry Charles

Starring: Bill Maher

"When it comes to believing in God, I tried.  I really tried."- George Carlin

I'm sure Bill Maher tried as well.   He was raised Catholic (although he is part Jewish) and went to mass until he was 13.    Then he stopped.    Why?  Judging from Religulous, which is a documentary of Maher punching holes in various religious beliefs, he simply couldn't rectify faith vs. logic.    People believe what they want or need to believe.    Religion provides comfort for some and a platform to espouse prejudices and bigotry for others.     It's a polarizing topic to be sure.   That doesn't stop Maher from creating an insightful, entertaining, and funny forum.    No religion is spared either, so Maher is an equal-opportunity agnostic.

Maher doesn't approach the material as someone trying to learn something new.    He "comes from the church of I don't know" as he puts it.    His questions of various believers are straight lines which allow the interviewee to provide the punch line.    One U.S. congressman, who believes in Creationism instead of Evolution, says, "Well, it doesn't take a genius to be a congressman."    Both he and Maher then sit in awkward silence while the Congressman ponders the verbal gaffe he just made.

Maher encounters a truck stop chapel, a Bible-themed amusement park, a man who believes named Jesus who believes he directly descended from Jesus, and a man who sells religious items.    These are just in the U.S.   Maher also travels to the Vatican and other parts of Europe as well.    One of the most illuminating clips is Maher discussing Catholic theology with a Vatican cardinal, who cheerfully admits that most of the Catholic beliefs are bunk.    I'm curious how long he remained a cardinal after that interview.    

Another piece shows Maher at an Amsterdam marijuana bar in which some patrons pray to weed instead of God.   Maher, who is also pro-marijuana, doesn't miss an opportunity to toke.    This was a scene the movie could've done without.     Religulous' message is simple:  Believe what you will, but be prepared for questions.     Naturally, some of Maher's subjects aren't so ready to be ridiculed, such as the truck stop chapel patrons.   

I managed to write this entire review without divulging my own religious views.   I don't think they're even necessary in this case.    Everyone has an opinion on religion.     Some have a sense of humor about them, some don't.    Bill Maher's view of religion borders on incredulous.    Just like the late, great George Carlin pointed out in many classic anti-religious rants:  If you apply logic to religious beliefs, they couldn't possibly hold up.   

The Verdict (1982) * * * *

Directed by: Sidney Lumet

Starring:  Paul Newman, James Mason, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden, Milo O' Shea

Boston attorney Frank Galvin hasn't had any substantial cases in the last four years.    He drinks heavily, lamenting lost opportunities and other failures which plague him.    It's amazing he can even keep his practice.    Things begin to turn around when his lawyer friend Mickey (Warden) finds Frank a malpractice case against a powerful local Catholic hospital.     A woman was admitted there to deliver her baby and, due to doctors' negligence, she ended up in a permanent coma.     Mickey sees a large settlement coming which would turn things around for Frank.   

The game plan changes drastically when Frank visits the comatose woman in the hospital.    Hooked to a ventilator with no hope of awakening, Frank decides to forego the settlement and go to trial.    "If I don't do this, then I'm lost," he tells the Archbishop who offered a $210,000 settlement in hopes of avoiding negative publicity.    This news doesn't please the woman's sister and brother-in-law, but Frank believes he finally has a chance to do the right thing. 

I probably made The Verdict sound like a feel-good made-for-TV movie, but doing the right thing is not without its troubles for Frank.   He can't find any witnesses that worked in the emergency room that night to testify.    His opponent is Edward Concannon (Mason), who has an expert team prepared to decimate Frank's case.    He encounters romance with a woman named Laura (Rampling) who turns out to be a plant from Concannon to gather information.    This breaks Frank's heart and his confrontation with her would likely get him thrown in jail if it happened today.    

As played by Paul Newman, Frank Galvin is weary, aging, and struggling to push forward.    He becomes determined for the first time in years to prove that he is still a good lawyer.     Glavin wears the suit and looks the part, but his practice represents the underside of the legal profession.    It is among Newman's best performances.    Concannon, on the other hand, has meetings in large conference rooms with all of the day's best technology at his disposal.     He rationalizes his methods by stating, "The only to keep yourself employed and paid is to win."   

The trial doesn't appear to be going Frank's way either and he makes an enemy of the judge by calling him a "bag man for the rich boys downtown."   Mickey and Frank catch a huge break when they track down a nurse who was present in the emergency room that night and seemingly fell off the face of the Earth.    She was forced to alter documents by the doctors in order to cover up their negligence.     Director Lumet's handling of her courtroom appearance is masterful.     One of the doctors accused of malpractice finishes testifying and walks from the witness box back to the defendants' table.    He is shown from the back and when the name "Kaitlin Costello" (the witness) is announced, he stops dead in his tracks and looks towards Concannon.    The viewer sees the look of dread on the doctor's face.    He knows their case has just been lost.    Concannon's desperate insistence on trying to get her testimony stricken from the record only confirms her story more with the jury.     What a great scene.    A follow-up scene in which a lawyer meets with the Archbishop after is also handled very well.     "Her testimony is stricken," the doctor says.   "But did they believe her?" the Archbishop asks.   The look on the lawyer's face reflects his resignation that they won't win, despite Concannon's legal maneuverings.

The Verdict is a character study with a trial wrapped around it.    Frank finally wins his redemption,
and in the end, Frank is sitting contemplating his future as the phone call from Laura rings endlessly.    Will there be any more cases like this one to fall into his lap?   Does he have anything left after putting forth so much effort to win a seemingly unwinnable case?   Only he knows those answers.   

Jack Reacher (2012) * *

Directed by:  Christopher McQuarrie

Starring:  Tom Cruise, Richard Jenkins, Rosamund Pike, Werner Herzog, Jai Courtney, Robert
Duvall

Tom Cruise's greatest strength is his absolute conviction even when given goofy characters to play or strange dialogue to recite.    Jack Reacher is a former military detective who fell off the grid after serving in Afghanistan.     He has no address, phone number, email address, pays for everything in cash (although how does he get cash?), and seems to disappear like the wind.    He is also an expert sharpshooter and hand-to-hand combat extraordinaire.     If we sent Reacher after Bin Laden, he would've been captured days after 9/11.

Jack Reacher starts out interestingly enough as a gunman armed with a rifle guns down five seemingly innocent victims.   He is positioned in a parking garage across the river from the victims and killed the five people on six bullets.    The suspect is quickly identified as James Barr, a combat veteran who writes "Get Jack Reacher" during his interrogation and soon after is beaten into a coma on the way to his holding cell.     Jack Reacher appears just as the local DA (Jenkins) and the cop investigating the case are discussing his history.    He seems to be right there when you need him at all times.

Reacher is a thorough researcher of evidence and is able to piece together quickly that Barr is innocent and conducts a search for the real killer.    His trail leads to a real estate magnate named The Zec (Herzog), who is evil and survived his stay in a Russian gulag by gnawing off his fingers when they became frostbitten.     He also has one blue eye and one blind eye, which is another tipoff to how malicious he is.    No hero looks like that.   

The trouble with Reacher is he is too clever.   He returns quick, witty, hard-boiled responses to questions and soon enough, it becomes apparent that Reacher is simply an instrument of violence and justice, not a real human being.    He knows things before everyone else and dares Barr's attorney (Pike) to catch up with him.    How does he know everything?    And why does he make everyone jump through hoops to find out what he already knows?    Dealing with Reacher must be very frustrating.    

Jack Reacher begins as a whodunit and then becomes yet another action flick with endless car chases, shootouts, and mano y mano fights in which Reacher bends body parts in ways not intended.     The baddie has Reacher dead to rights, but chooses to fistfight with him instead and of course loses badly.   Indiana Jones had the right idea when he shot the swordsman in Raiders Of The Lost Ark instead of humoring him with fisticuffs.    However, I read that Harrison Ford wasn't feeling well that day and couldn't handle a fight scene, so he ad-libbed the shooting and it stayed in the movie.    Too bad Tom Cruise felt just fine the day of his climactic fight scene.  

And maybe I missed it, but how exactly did Robert Duvall get talked into appearing in the final shootout?    It's always great to see Duvall as he reunites with Cruise for the first time since Days Of Thunder (1990), another forgettable genre picture.    The finale takes place in a quarry where The Zec's real estate company does its shady business.    The lawyer is taken hostage.    The quarry is vast and allows Reacher to infiltrate the area almost undetected while things blow up all around.    Is this really how the real estate company envisioned its master plan concluding?  

The Commitments (1991) * *

Directed by:  Alan Parker

Starring:  Robert Arkins, Andrew Strong


Alan Parker has an affinity for musicals.    He directed Evita, Pink Floyd The Wall, and now The Commitments, which is about a local Dublin band specializing in American blues and soul put together by an ambitious young Dubliner named Jimmy Rabbitte (Arkins).   Jimmy dreams of superstardom for his band and practices mock interviews with himself in the shower.     He gathers up a group of young adults who love soul and blues and soon enough they become the toast of Dublin.    They don't always get along and many are disgusted by the antics of the lead singer Deco (Strong), who can belt out a tune with the best of them.

The Commitments is a rags-to-not-quite riches story.    The group gains a strong local following and even catches the eye of Wilson Pickett (who is never seen in the film), who promises to perform with the band the next time he is in Dublin.     He attempts to make good on his promise, but by then the band is in freefall and nearing a breakup.      Somehow, though, The Commitments never gets off the ground for me.    There's plenty of music and good times, but that doesn't necessarily translate into riveting material.  

Like Purple Rain and other movies about groups trying to make it, the performances are so professionally done that they lack realism.    I was clearly aware I was listening to a soundtrack, even if the actors themselves do the singing.     Despite Rabbitte's attempts, The Commitments can't stop the in-fighting after the show.    "Fuck" is thrown around a lot (pronounced "fook" in Irish dialect), but I can't help but feel a been-there, done-that aura about the whole thing.   

It's strange.   The Commitments seem to be pretty good.   The performances are fine and everyone is having a good time, but I just didn't care much.    Maybe it's the formula of cliche, musical number, cliche, musical number that stripped away at my patience.     Or perhaps I'm just not a big blues and soul music fan.