Have you noticed the color schemes of the art for these recent films I have reviewed here? Brown or blue … the more mature films are dark. 2008 films deal with death, a lot of death. Defiance is no exception. It is a dark film because it is about the Holocaust. It is filled with light, [...]
Gran Torino
Clint Eastwood is a consistently busy actor and filmmaker, one of the best ever. His current directorial effort is a moving portrayal of a mother in search of her son in the historical drama/police thriller The Changeling. It is sure to garner some awards. Now here comes Gran Torino, in which Eastwood stars and directs. (Is he [...]
Revolutionary Road
Revolutuionary Road is directed by Sam Mendes who also brought us the 1999 multi-Academy Award winning film American Beauty. This new film revisits many of the same themes as American Beauty: white upper-middle class prosperity and accompanying ennui and the search for meaning in a life as empty as the sweet little house in the [...]
Valkyrie
Valkyrie is a tragic film, all the more so because you know how it will end before it even begins. Tom Cruise plays Col. Claus von Stauffenberg as the leader of the 15th plot to assassinate Hitler during World War II. This particular attempt took place on July 20, 1944 when the allied invasion of [...]
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
This film is develped from by a short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It tells of a man who is born tiny, but with the body of an 80-year old man. It is the turn of the 19th century in New Orleans. His mother dies and his father is caught in the act [...]
Bedtime Stories
A brief comment on this new Adam Sandler movie: the kids at the screening loved it. It was short on affection for tofu but rich in benevolence for children. Yes, flatulance caused much laughter, but so did the guinea pig with really big eyes. He was like the squirrel in the Ice Age films; no [...]
The Tale of Despereaux
The Tale of Despereaux is a feast for catechists, and for those who teach character education. My time is short right now, so I cannot do it justice, but it is quite sophisticated in terms of themes. It may seem a bit “dark” but traditionally, “fairy tales” are very dark. What Despereaux has going for [...]
Seven Pounds
Rosario Dawson and Will Smith star in Seven Pounds Will Smith is always good, and in this tear-jerker, he and his co-stars, excel. However, the premise of the film is flawed, both ethically, spiritually, and as a story. Seven Pounds is an unfortunate film. -spoiler- Ben Thomas (Will Smith) seeks redemption; he blames himself for [...]
The Class “Entre les murs”
The Class (French with English subtitles) won the Golden Palm at Cannes this year – and it was well deserved. This is a riveting semi-autobiographical film written and played by teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau. It follows him as he teaches French grammar to ninth graders at an urban Paris high school for a year. [...]
December Film & TV Reviews
For December Film and TV Reviews visit http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Jan2009/Eye_On_Entertainment.asp FILMS Slumdog Millionaire Doubt Twilight The Boy in Striped Pajamas W. Quantum of Solace TELEVISION Eleventh Hour True Blood
