THE HELP - Best movie I have seen this year

THE HELP - I have read a few reviews of this movie including one by a writer who I admire.  I read her review with interest but in the end was ver disappointed.  It turned out she hadn't actually seen the movie but was just complaining because it was a book and then a movie about black women but it was by a white woman.  The story is about the relationship betwen black women and white women at a time when it was hard, even dangerous, for black women to speak openly.

When I read the book, I was struck by the difference between what I remembered of the 60's in Ohio and the very different reality in the Mississippi.  It was a very dangerous time to be black in the South and both the book and the movie show how terrifying that must have been.  It was terrifying for black women and stultifying for white women, whose only hope in life was to marry well. 

The movie was compelling, and funny at the same time.  It captured the essence of the book, although it may not have conveyed the full terror that I realized while reading the book.  It had a stellar cast and everyone did a great job, both the star and supporting roles.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES - Good Fun

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES was especially fun for us because it takes place in the SF Bay Area so we recognized all the places where the action took place.  It is one sequel that is an improvement on the originals, especially because there was more of a story line.  There were a couple of bad guys but otherwise both the people and the apes were appealing characters.  We laughed and enjoyed the whole movie.

COWBOYS AND ALIENS - Movie Nostalgia

COWBOYS AND INDIANS - For those of us who spent the part of the early 50s watching Westerns at our local movie theater.   Just substitute aliens for the Indians of yore and you will recognize most of the characters - the evil rancher who strikes fear in everyone, the kindly preacherman, the tough lady of the night, the lonely figure of justice.  Of course these are all brought up to date and definitely not as black or white as the people in the old Westerns.  There were too many battles for my taste but I am sure most men will love them.  It was humorous and beautiful.  I liked it.

FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS - fun and witty movie

Another version of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl; but oh so up-to-date and witty.  I am so pleased that there are comedies out there now where the humor assumes a little maturity - not old people maturity - just not slacker jokes.  Justin Timberlake just keeps on getting better and Mila Kunis is beautiful and funny.  The supporting cast is great - I was particularly charmed by Patricia Clarkson, Woody Harrelson, Nolan Gould, and Shaun White.  Not a deep movie, just a highly satisfying one.

"The Tree of Life" - Unusual Movie

"The Tree of Life" - Wow!  I am not sure what to think about this movie.  Visually, it is spectacular, sort of a kaleidascope of beautiful images.  The story is of a family with three sons growing up in Waco, Texas in the 1940's.  There are many scenes that struck me as perfect images of the time: the bright colored aluminum glasses the milkman delivered in the summertime, filled with cottage cheese; the boys haircuts; the clothesline filled with gently blowing clothes.  Brad Pitt is wonderful as a father of that time, part tough, part gentle.  The mother is idealized and fun.  The three boys ring true to the period also.  I am not sure of much else...what exactly was the point?  In some ways, watching this movie was like meditation, my mind kept flicking through the images, going off on thoughts of my own, refocusing.  I count any movie a success that causes me to think about it and wonder what it all means.  Sean Penn moved through the movie but I am not sure what he was projecting.  I may have to see it again.

BEGINNERS - A Beautiful Movie

BEGINNERS tells the story of a young cartoonist (Ewen McGregor) who has first learned that his father (Christopher Plummer) is gay and has come out of the closet at the age of 75, and then that his father is dying of cancer.  This is a lovely movie that gently and humorously touches on the changes that have occurred since the mid fifties in gay rights, womens' roles, and the treatment of Jews.  His mother was someone I would love to have known.  But even more it is about the different kinds of love that make up this complicated world.  It was funny and innovative in the camera work, and I have been contentedly thinking about various scenes many times since I saw it.  It's a very good movie.

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS - Like Woody's Early Funnier Ones

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS -  A love song to Paris.  Reminiscent of his earlier (funny) ones that made us all wish we lived in New York, this latest Woody Allen movie shows us a sparkling Paris.  A screen writer who wishes he were writing novels visiting Paris with his fiance and her parents, falls in love with Paris and wants to stary there.  His adventures in the city, during the night while his fiance sleeps, include run ins with the intellectuals he admires so from the past.  This is a frothy summer movie, a comedy without reference to the raunchy comedies more common today.  I enjoyed it.