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THE EXPENDABLES – A Review by Gary Murray

Gary Murray
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THE EXPENDABLES – A Review by Gary Murray

THE EXPENDABLES By Gary Murray Starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Dolph Lundgren. Eric Roberts and Jet Li Written by Sylvester Stallone and Dave Callaham Directed by Sylvester Stallone Running time 105 min MPAA Rating R Selig Film Rating Matinee

The 1980’s was the heyday for action films. Both Arnold and Willis staked claims of being the top action hero, but Sylvester Stallone is the once, still and future king. Not only is he an Oscar winner, but between his Rocky and Rambo flicks, Sly is a billion dollar industry. Though he has had a wide degree of success with some of his other roles and choices, the action flicks he puts on the screen have always been drive-in treasures. With his newest flick The Expendables, he should win another group of young action junkies. Our little drama opens with a hostage situation on an oil tanker. Barney Ross (Sylvester) and his crew are contract mercenaries who are tasked to save a group of hostages. After the rescue, it becomes apparent that one member needs to cut loose. The entire sequence feels more like the James Bond teaser that opens the adventure. Back in the States, our guys are approached by a a very mysterious man called Church (Bruce Willis). Both Ross and another mercenary (Arnold in a cameo) are offered a job. Of the two, only Ross accepts the mission. The team is to go down to South America and take out General Gaza. Unknown to our heroes, the general is backed by a former CIA agent James Monroe (Eric Roberts) who has gone rogue Ross’ team consists of Lee Christmas (Jason Statman) as an expert with knives but not with women. Jet Li is Yin Yang a master of hand to hand combat. Toll Road (Randy Couture) is the man with the detonation devices and Gunnar (Dolph Lundgren) is the sniper on the edge. It has a Dirty Dozen feel, with men not being whole but their lacking is compensated by another. Of course, the flick is peppered with different women who help push the actions of the men. This is a very macho man’s world with the gals being a small but driving force. The film is structured very simply. We get the action set-up, meet the gang, get the mission, find out the mission isn’t as cut and dry as first thought, and finally the massacre of all the bad guys. What a blood bath it turns out to be. The Expendables makes the last Rambo flick look like a Care Bears movie. We get metric tons of decaying, bullet-riddled flesh with every appendage rolling at some point in the melee. At one time, Sylvester Stallone was a writing wonder boy. It seems that fame and fortune have tainted his the more literary aspects of his talents but he can still spin an exciting yarn. It is as a director that Sly shows that he still has it. He gives us action piece after action piece with little chance to catch ones breath. It almost feels as if this were his last gasp at being able to put something on the screen and he want to throw every bit from his directors toolbox at the screen. We get so many earth shattering explosions upon explosions that the screen becomes awash in degrees of red and yellow. He also gives his giant cast of action heroes moments to shine and Dolph Lundgren is granted the widest berth of acting prowess. With so many different performers, someone has to get the short stick on screen time. Those short sticks are given to Mickey Rourke and Jet Li. The former is almost a cameo performance and the latter just isn’t given much to do other than show off a few quick moves here and there. Arnold and Bruce are just in one scene, both looking tickled pink to be in a single scene with Sly Stallone. Watching this little bit makes one realize how much Hollywood and the audience misses the Terminator Governor. The Expendables is just a simple action flick, just like those of decades past. It wants nothing more than to entertain and does so to a stellar degree. This is a drive-in style of entertainment and is just a popcorn-chewing, grind-house, head-rolling, blood-churning action chunk of fun. Nothing to be taken seriously but it is a gas to watch it spill across the screen.

THE OTHER GUYS – A Review by Gary Murray

Gary Murray
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THE OTHER GUYS – A Review by Gary Murray

THE OTHER GUYS By Gary Murray Starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg Written by Adam McKay and Chris Henchy Directed by Adam McKay Running time 107 MPAA Rating PG-13 Selig Film Rating Cable

The action buddy comedy had its heyday a few decades back. Flicks like Bad Boys and the Lethal Weapon assaulted the Cineplex screen, giving laughs and explosions in equal measure. Like all genres, they eventually ran their course. In the last few years, the films have been more the fodder of parody. With Hot Fuzz and Cop Out the genre has become more of a wink and a nod than a straightforward bit of film-making. Now late into the game, comes The Other Guys. The film starts with two detectives played by Samuel L. Jackson and The Rock. As our little play opens, they are in high pursuit of a car load of suspects. Our guys are driving a perfect classic little Cutlass SS, so everyone knows that it will not survive the chase. In a stunning bit of cars jumps and bus explosions, the bad guys are apprehended. Our cops confiscate the illegal gains, a quarter pound of marijuana. Following this misdemeanor crime that caused millions of damages, the detectives are back in the station. Too cool to do all the paperwork, the details fall on The Other Guys, detectives who work in the background The butt of the department are Alan Gamble (Will Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg). Yes, there are losers among the losers. When a tragedy occurs, there is an opening for two cool, rear-kicking detectives. Terry sees this as a chance to redeem himself but Alan wants nothing more than to be a police accountant. It seems that both have an event in their past that has caused them to be in the background. Alan notices a code violation on a series of buildings and it sends up a red flag with a foreign investor (Steve Coogan) which leads to a confrontation with a bunch of hired guns. The twisting and turning plot is more of an excuse to discover the back story of the two leads. We are also introduced to Alan’s wife (Eva Mendes) who is there to be a lust reaction for Terry. The three of them having dinner is a highlight in the story. The two cops use their skills in deduction and law enforcement to discover the nefarious plot. Along the ways we get all the cliche plot points and hacked scenes that make up the genre. The one part that nails down the parody vs reality is when a building blows up and the two cops have a true, non-Hollywood reaction to the event. It is the single funniest moment of the film. There is the biggest flaw with The Other Guys, the lack of funny moments. While a few scenes put a sizzle on the comedy griddle there are giant lapses where the laughs are few and far between. Some of the comedy bits are weak to the point sticking out. When one waits and waits for a daub of humor and it falls flat, the level comes across as inconsistent. Adam McKay and Chris Henchy have turned in some humorous stuff on the screen before but with The Other Guys it all feels like to much of the same thing. Car crashes as punchlines went out with The Blues Brothers. Mark Wahlberg gave a surprisingly decent reading playing a low key version of the Mel Gibson character from Lethal Weapon. The problem is that his character is a bit schizo, pining for his partners woman in one scene and trying to get back with a former love in another. It is as if he were just playing different parts in different skits based on the same idea. I know that Will Ferrell can be funny. His SNL days were some of the best moments on television. His film career has not be as solid. Though he makes tons of cash for the producers of his films, few are gems of comedy. With every one great role, he delivers about 5 weak ones. This is another weak one. Eva Mendes is given anything more to do than be stunning in a tight dress, which she does with a filled out grace. Michael Keaton is the head of the department and has a moment of ‘Hey, isn’t that Michael Keaton?’. It is a total waste of his talents but is is great to see him on the big screen. The Other Guys is not so much a film as it is a ride. It is planned to be a diversion, something to take ones mind off the hot Summer days while being in the cool of a theater. It is nothing one has see, just something to waste time with.

DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS – A Review by Gary Murray

Gary Murray
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DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS – A Review by Gary Murray

DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS By Gary Murray Starring Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Zach Galifianakis and Jemaine Clement Written by David Guion and Michael Handelman Directed by Jay Roach Running time 105 min MPAA Rating PG-13 Selig Film Rating Matinee

Steve Carell has been building his comedy career since The Daily Show. He and Steven Colbert were the glue that kept the Jon Stewart helmed show on the cutting edge. With The Office, he has cemented his place in television industry. Lately, Steve has taken roles in different kinds of film, winning critical reviews and major box office. His latest is the wild comedy Dinner for Schmucks. Based on Francis Veber’s The Dinner Game (Le diner de cons), the film opens with Paul Rudd as Tim, a guy on the sixth floor of an investment company who wants to be on the seventh floor, upper management. When an opportunity arises Tim shows that he has the ‘thinking outside of the box’ skills to impress his boss. Before being officially offered the job, he must come to a secret dinner. At this feast, every member of the upper management must bring a idiot, a person that they can all make fun of during the meal. When Tim tells his girlfriend Julie (Stephanie Szostak) about the dinner, she is appalled and doesn’t want him to have anything to do with it. She’s an gallery representative who is showing Kieran (Jemaine Clement) a photographer/painter who uses himself as the basic subject matter. He is a person who could easily have been a part of the dinner. Tim unsuccessfully explains to Julie that there are two Tims, one that they love and one that does anything to get ahead. The next morning as Tim is driving to work, he literally runs into Barry as Barry runs into the street. Barry is trying to save a rodent carcass for his taxidermy artworks. The pieces are based on famous paintings, personalities and events, all done with appropriate costumes and backgrounds. They are brilliant works of art. Barry gives Tim the centerpiece of his latest creation, The Last Supper. Holding the tiny rodent Jesus, Tim realizes that Barry is the perfect idiot for the dinner and asks him to the event because ‘everything happens for a reason’. The rest of the film is the next 48 hours and a tornado of destruction that is Barry. Tim is asked by his big boss to have a Saturday lunch date with the newest prospective client. Barry shows up at Tim’s apartment a day early, much to the chagrin of Julie. When Julie realizes what Tim is up to, she leaves. Barry sees infidelity in the situation, which drives an encounter with an old one night stand Darla (Lucky Punch). Events steer Barry and Tim to see Barry’s boss Therman (Zach Galifianakis) an IRS agent and part-time mentalist. All the events lead to our Dinner for Schmucks and a collection of some of the weirdest dinner guests ever assembled on screen. The amazing thing about the script is that even the throw-away lines uttered by different minor cast members get laughs. The film is directed my maverick Jay Roach, the guy who gave us both Austin Powers and Meet the Parents, both huge successes with millions of fans. This film should follow a similar path. While he knows how to get great performances from his stellar comedy cast, he never seems to build the laughter up in Dinner. Funny moments follow funny moments, but they are just there and never reach a stunning climax. The pacing just isn’t what he has delivered before. On the positive side, the acting could not have been better. Steve Carell just nails Barry, the IRS agent who may be a dweeb but has a mountain of sorrow on his small shoulders. He knows that he’s not the coolest guy on the block but it doesn’t bother him. He just lives the life he wants to. Paul Rudd gets a moment here and there to lay down some laughs but his job is more of the straight man, being the only sane person in the asylum. Both Zach Galifianakis and Jemaine Celment steal just about every scene they are in but the biggest praises have to go to Lucy Punch as the dumped upon gal. She just roars in this boys club of comics, getting a great reaction as the crazed lover. Stephanie Szostak is just there to be pretty and is given so little to do other than be the object of desire. While not on the level as the first two Austin Powers films, it is heads above all the Meet The Parents flicks. It finds a solid balance between slapstick and farce without ever going overboard on either side. Dinner for Schmucks is not one of the best films of the year but it is one of the most solid comedies of the summer.

CHARLIE ST. CLOUD – A Review by Gary Dean Murray

Gary Murray
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CHARLIE ST. CLOUD – A Review by Gary Dean Murray

CHARLIE ST. CLOUD By Gary Dean Murray Starring Zac Efron, Charlie Tahan, Amanda Crew, Ray Liotta and Kim Basinger Written by Craig Pearce and Lewis Colick Directed by Burr Steers Running time 93 min MPAA Rating PG-13 Selig Film Rating Matinee Zac

Efron is trying to make the transition from teen idol to serious actor. The former High School Musical star has been turning in some solid performances in different major motion pictures for the last few years with various degrees of success. With every big budget smash flick like Hairspray, he’s done some independent films such as Me and Orson Welles which saw a small box office but had critical acclaim. He latest is the specter melodrama Charlie St. Cloud. Zac plays the title character, a young sailing star who is about to graduate high school and go to Stanford on a sailing scholarship. He has a precious little brother Sam (Charlie Tahan) and an overworked Mom (Kim Basinger). The two boys fight and pick on each other, but deep down the two truly have a brotherly bond. On the weekend of his graduation, Charlie has to babysit his little brother instead of going to a farewell kegger thrown by his buddies who are off to war. Charlie decides to take Sam to a friends house, going against Mom’s wishes. Charlie promises Sam that they will spend every day at sunset practicing his baseball fundamentals if he goes along with the plan. On the way to drop Sam off, the two are in a terrible car wreck. Paramedic Florio (Ray Liotta) saves Charlie but cannot save Sam. With Charlie coming back from the dead, Florio believes that he has witnessed a miracle and that Charlie has been given a second chance at life. Flash forward five years and Charlie is a grounds keeper at the cemetery where Sam is buried. Mom is long gone, trying to build a new life in another city. When the cannon thunder signals nightfall, Charlie goes to the woods and Sam is waiting for him. It seems that Charlie can see dead people and Sam has refused to cross over to the other side. The two are in limbo, with Sam never going to the afterlife and Charlie never living his life. Charlie is known as the slightly cracked loner by everyone in the town. Enter Tess (Amanda Crew). She’s a former sailing competitor who has gone on to bigger fame. With her coach, they are planning to participate in an around the world sailing event. Tess has a striking command of the sea but cannot shake the competitive spirit she feels when she is near Charlie. One can tell that Charlie is envious about all that Tess has accomplished in a short few years. On the night of a bad storm. Tess shows up at Charlies small cemetery cabin and the two begin a relationship, much to the chagrin of Sam. How all these elements play out is what drives Charlie St. Cloud to its inevitable conclusion. As a starring vehicle, this is another strong performance from Zac. While the story is very simplistic and the twist seen a mile away, Zac does a good job at giving the audience a large range of emotions. We see him both laugh and cry, while never losing the basic tenants of his character. He proves that he can carry a heavy dramatic part while infusing a light touch to the proceedings. His scenes battling the geese near the cemetery show the lighter side of his character. Amanda Crew has a great chemistry with Zac, showing all the elements one wants in what is a basic, thumbnail part. She is the non-threatening girl next door, the kind of young woman that the teens in the audience can relate to and imagine falling for Zac. Though she does get a little chance to show some depth toward the end of the piece. The biggest find in Charlie St. Cloud is Charlie Tahan as little brother Sam. He just pulls at the heartstrings while delivering a reading that shows both warmth and humor. His is the hardest role, the one surrounded in mystery but he takes us in a solid direction. Our two big stars—Ray Liotta and Kim Basinger are basically cameo performances with Basinger almost being a ‘blink and you miss it’ turn. The second unit has to be praised for giving some of the most striking visual images of the year. The scenes of the sailing that pepper the film are breathtaking in composition and tone. The craftsmen who put these images on the screen are almost painting a picture with the elements, giving a warmth to the sea faring vistas. A film like Charlie St. Cloud will never win the Oscar but it should bring in the ‘tween audience it aims for, making back all the money put out. It is spiritual without being religious, heartfelt without being heavy handed. It is romantic without being sexual and morose without being morbid. And we get some e.e. cummings poetry. This is just the kind of film like The Notebook which will be watched over and over again by young women wanting a relationship like the one portrayed on screen. Charlie St. Cloud is not a bad little film but it is not made for an old guy like me.

THE DRY LAND – A Review by John Strange

John Strange
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THE DRY LAND – A Review by John Strange
THE DRY LAND
By: John ’Doc’ Strange
Written and Directed by: Ryan Piers Williams
Starring: Ryan O’Nan, America Ferrera, Wilmer Valderrama, Jason Ritter
MPAA Rating: R (for pervasive language, sexual content and disturbing violent situations)
Selig Rating: Full Price
Runtime: 92 Min.
James (Ryan O’Nan) has returned home from Iraq to his home in El Paso and his loving wife, Sarah (America Ferrera). He is deeply troubled by events that happened to him but unable to talk about it to his family and friends because he can’t remember any details. The more he tries to remember the worse he feels. His relationship with Sarah and his family deteriorates steadily as the days go by.
He receives a letter from Raymond Gonzales (Wilmer Valderrama), his fellow soldier and friend from Iraq. After Sarah leaves him to protect herself from James’ growing desperation to know the truth leads him to go on a road trip.
First stop, Raymond’s home, to convince his friend to accompany him on the trip. The two travel to Walter Reed Army hospital to talk to Henry (Diego Klattenhoff), the only other survivor of their squad. Henry tells James what Raymond refused to tell, what happened that fateful day.
This is a film that does not pull punches or shade the truth. It is not pro-war or anti-war. It is simply a statement of the troubles our young soldiers are experiencing when they go to war. This truth is not related to only one war or police action. It has existed since man fist battled against man. It is worse now because medical science is doing more to heal the bodies, if not so well at healing the minds of our soldiers.
The performances of Ryan O’Nan, America Ferrera, and Wilmer Valderrama are excellent. After listening to the Q&A which followed the screening I attended, I found that the script was researched by Ryan Piers Williams over several years. His script struck a strong cord with America and Wilmer. It struck a strong one with me, too. I think you will be affected by this film as well.
 

RAMONA AND BEEZUS – A Review by John Strange

John Strange
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RAMONA AND BEEZUS – A Review by John Strange
RAMONA AND BEEZUS
 
By: John ’Doc’ Strange
Directed by: Elizabeth Allen
Starring: Joey King, Selena Gomez, John Corbett, Bridget Moynahan, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Duhamel
MPAA Rating: G
Selig Rating: Full Price
Runtime: 104 Min.
Summer can be a magical time for family films. Some years we see some amazing films appear on our theater screens and some years it’s just sad. This year, we have a least one really wonderful film coming out, RAMONA AND BEEZUS.
This movie is about a family, like any other family, living their lives on a normal street like any street. What makes them magical is the spark of a young girl. Whatever she does, it never works out exactly the way she intends. Most often this leads her mom, Dorothy (Bridget Moynahan), and her Dad, Robert (John Corbett), to shake their heads while her Aunt Bea (Ginnifer Goodwin), herself a younger sister, is available to commiserate and share her ordeals in the big tree in the back yard.
Coming as they do from a book series which focused on Henry Huggins, I did not expect this story of Ramona Quimby (Joey King), a young girl whose imagination out runs her abilities but never her heart, and her older “perfect” sister, Beezus (Selena Gomez), to grab my heart and charm its way into my soul. 
Ramona looks at the world a little differently than other people do. Where I see hole in a wall, she sees a place to jump into adventure. Where most kids her age might see a family in crisis and panic, she jumps in to help. All I can say is that “Easter Egg/Rainbow” is not a factory color for Land Rovers.
Take your kids to see this movie. They will learn a good lesson about life, love and family.

SALT – A Review by Gary “Punster” Murray

Gary Murray
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SALT – A Review by Gary “Punster” Murray

SALT

By Gary “Punster” Murray

Starring Angelina Jolie and Leiv Schreiber

Written by Kirt Wimmer

Directed by Phillip Noyce

Running time 100 min

MPAA Rating PG-13

Selig Film Rating Cable

Angelina Jolie has been a movie star for many years. Her striking beauty has elevated mild mannered treats into a assault of the senses. With films like Mr. & Mrs. Smith and the Laura Croft series, she has shown that she can pepper a sugary little cinematic morsel into a spicy event. In a pinch of a tale called Salt, she gives us a shaker full of action.

Salt, the movie, refers to Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) and we start two years ago. She is being held by the North Koreans, called a spy. She insists that she is a business woman and the incident is a mistake. In a torture scene reminiscent of 007, Salt is watered in a sea of wetness. Eventually, she is traded in an exchange, driven by her romantic partner Mike Krause (August Diehl), a spider researcher. Her co-worker Ted Winter (Leiv Schreiber) lets us know very early that, yes indeed, Salt is a CIA spy working undercover at a power company called Risk. That’s right, she’s a risky spy.

We go to modern time and Evelyn is considering becoming a paper pusher in the Agency, giving up the clandestine life for wedded bliss. Right as Salt is going home, a Russian agent named Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski) comes to the office, ready to confess his crimes. He tells the staff that there is going to be an execution of the Russian Prime Minister by Russian agents infiltrated within the US. The agent who will end the life of the politician has been here in a secret Soviet plan since she was a little girl. The assassin is named Evelyn Salt.

Evelyn is taken aback. She knows that this is a set-up and that the bad guys will first go after her husband Mike. The CIA Internal Affairs department instantly wants to detain Salt, just to get to the bottom of all the accusations. Salt bolts. It becomes a cat and mouse game to get out of the building and to her apartment. It becomes one of the big set pieces of the picture when we see Salt’s prowess in making makeshift weapons and finding creative ways to escape capture. Soon she becomes ‘A Salt with a Deadly Weapon’ as she makes it home to find out that indeed someone has abducted her beloved.. Orlov escapes with a device seen in From Russia with Love

The question keeps in the forefront of the piece—who’s side is Salt truly on? Sometimes she does things that look very ‘bad guy’ and other times she is taking care not to hurt the people she is trying to escape from. She begins taking on all comers from all corners, showing a Salt and battery on all the enemies, finding all the bad guys while still avoiding capture, being a Salt shaker if you will. The diversion of the work is to decide wither one will root for or against Salt in her mission.

In so many ways, Salt feels grainy, like a third rate James Bond or a Mission: Impossible sequel. We get all the action one would expect with great explosions and thrilling chases. There are escapes from buildings and cars, all done with great skill by the second unit. The problem is that it all feels a bit ‘been there—done that’ with the plot. While trying to keep us guessing on “Who is Salt?” the makers have gone a cliche ridden route, with just about every twist lifted from other sources.

The bigger problem is with Jolie. She has lost so much weight that she looks tiny. Where in Mr. & Mrs Smith she was long and lean, here she is just has an anemic look. It becomes a very hard ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ to buy that a barely 100 pound woman could take down highly trained agents time and time again.

The question arises– is Angelina Jolie worth her salt in Salt? Well, pinch me, this mother is set up for another episode. Will we see Salt again? Probably. Salt is just a forgettable summertime blockbuster, a rainy day waste of a few hours with some thrills and spills along the way.

2011 DALLAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL CALL FOR ENTRIES

Dev Shapiro
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2011 DALLAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL CALL FOR ENTRIES

The DALLAS Film Society announces that submissions for the 5th annual DALLAS International Film Festival are now open as of July 19, 2010. The DALLAS International Film Festival is scheduled for March 31-April 10, 2011. Opening night will be held Thursday, March 31, at the AT&T Performing Arts Center Winspear Opera House.

“We are especially pleased to announce that Target again will present the Target Filmmaker Award for Best Narrative Feature and the Target Filmmaker Award for Best Documentary Feature, with cash awards of $25,000 each,” said James Faust, artistic director, DALLAS International Film Festival. “Target’s support of filmmakers has been a major highlight in the history of our festival, and it is gratifying to be able to recognize the talented films that will compete for these prizes again in 2011.”

Early deadline is Friday, October 29, 2010. Regular deadline is Friday, December 3, 2010. Late deadline is Wednesday, December 17, 2010. A link for film submissions and information on submissions is available at www.dallasfilm.org/call-for-entries. Other questions may be sent to submissions@dallasfilm.org.

“We have been able to discover some great talent in our submissions in the past and this year will be no exception,” said Sarah Harris, senior programmer, DALLAS International Film Festival. “We are excited to see what filmmakers have been working on and what we will be able to share with audiences in 2011.”

“Target’s generous contribution makes this an especially significant announcement,” said Tanya Foster, president and CEO of DALLAS Film Society and executive director of DALLAS International Film Festival. “We are very grateful for the support of the filmmaking community at large, and of the DALLAS International Film Festival in particular, that Target has provided since the festival’s inception.”

Additionally, the MPS Studios Texas Filmmaker Award will be awarded to the winner of the Texas Competition, a juried competition that contains features and documentaries shot in or relating to the Lone Star state. The winner of the Texas Competition will receive $20,000 in cash, goods and services from MPS Studios Dallas.

Other awards will include: Grand Jury Prize – Animation Short Film, presented by REEL FX ENTERTAINMENT; Grand Jury Prize – Short Film; Grand Jury Prize – Student Short Film; Environmental Visions Award for the winner of the Environmental Visions Competition; and Audience Awards for Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, and Best Short Film.

“This call for entries marks the official countdown to our 5th Anniversary DALLAS International Film Festival,” Foster continued. “This will be an exciting year as we hold our opening night at the stunning Winspear Opera House in the heart of the new AT&T Performing Arts Center, and as we honor Liener Temerlin.”

The 2011 DALLAS International Film Festival will be dedicated to Temerlin, who founded the Festival and serves as chairman emeritus, said Foster.

“The creative influence of Liener Temerlin has left a mark on the city of Dallas,” said Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert. “As Mayor, I have always been proud to be a part of the DALLAS International Film Festival, even more so in 2011 when the festival is being dedicated to Liener, a true trailblazer.”

The DALLAS Film Society celebrates films and their impact on society. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, the DALLAS Film Society recognizes and honors filmmakers for their achievements in enhancing the creative community, provides educational programs to students to develop better understanding of the role of film in today’s world, and promotes the City of Dallas and its commitment to the art of filmmaking. The annual DALLAS International Film Festival, scheduled for March 31-April 10, 2011, is a presentation of the DALLAS Film Society. In addition to producing one of the largest festivals in the Southwest, the Society produces numerous year round events, screening series and partnership programs with arts organizations around the city. For more information, call (214) 720-0555, or visit www.dallasfilm.org. The offices of the DALLAS Film Society are located at 3625 North Hall Street, Suite 740, Dallas, TX 75219.

About Target Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,740 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has give 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week.

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT – A Review by Gary Murray

Gary Murray
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THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT – A Review by Gary Murray

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT By Gary Murray Starring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson Written by Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg Directed by Lisa Cholodenko Running time 106 min MPAA Rating R Lisa Cholodenko created both High Art and Laurel Canyon, both films that carry a heavy independent street cred and were praised by many critics when the end of the year came around. Although they were seen by few patrons, they generated a lot of press. Her latest flick The Kids are All Right takes her career to a different level. Jules (Julianne Moore) and Nic (Annette Bening) are a California suburban lesbian couple with two kids Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson). Their life is very middle class and very middle of the road. When Joni turns eighteen, she has the right to find out who the sperm donor for her conception was. She doesn’t care but Laser does. They find out that the man with the baby butter is Paul (Mark Ruffalo), a local restaurateur and free spirit. The sparks start to fly when the two Moms find out that the two kids have met with Paul and want to keep seeing him. So the Moms invite Paul over for dinner. Paul talks about how his backyard needs landscaping and Jules says that she is interested in doing the job. This leads to a uneasy triangle between Paul and the two recipients of his sperm. It becomes a comic farce as Paul becomes a whirlwind into the lives of this intact family, causing questions from every member. The leads in this film are the reason it works. Julianne Moore is the flighty ‘woman’ in the couple while Annette Bening is our female ‘man’ The broad stereotypes do not do justice to the performances as each finds more than the shorthand thumbnail sketch to the character. They are living, breathing individuals with both a history and depth. The struggles of a couple when another enters the picture are the same no matter what the sex. These are two gifted actresses at the apex of their craft. The biggest surprise comes from Mark Ruffalo. He plays the role of the spoiler throwing a wrench into the family. He’s not a bad guy, just a confused one. Finding out that his sperm has produced two very different and very special kids gives him both a source of pride and a source of sorrow. The sorrow comes from not being a part of the family he created even if on a tacit scale. The kids do a stand-up job going scene for scene with such a powerhouse cast. Josh Hutcherson comes across as the most vulnerable, living in a world of women and craving a father figure. He brings such an honest touch to what could have been a static role. Director Lisa Cholodenko plays to her strengths, a cast of Oscar caliber thespians and letting them run with the material while not letting them run away with the performances. She finds a strong balance between comedy and tragedy while never losing either rein to melodrama. The film is more like Guess Who is Coming to Dinner? but with a stronger comic bend. It is an issue flick, taking on gay parenting. It is a different kind of film and will probably be remembered come end of the year balloting.

INCEPTION – A Review by Gary Murray

Gary Murray
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INCEPTION – A Review by Gary Murray

INCEPTION By Gary Murray Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page Ken Watanabe and Marion Cotillard Written and directed by Christopher Nolan Running time 2 hr 15 min MPAA Rating PG-13 Selig Film Scale: FULL PRICE

Christopher Nolan reinvented the Batman franchise with Batman Begins, taking a series that had gone into parody and making it cool again. The re-boot generated a new enthusiasm for re-booting comic book films that still reverberates today. He takes on the idea of dream warriors with Inception, one of the most creative films of the summer. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio is Cobb, a skilled thief in the art of extraction. His job is to go into the mind of his victim and extract information during the dream state, stealing ideas from others. As the drama opens, Cobb and his team are demonstrating their skills to Saito (Ken Watanabe) a prospective client. Even though the extraction doesn’t go as planned, Saito is impressed by the team and wants to hire them. Cobb has problems of his own. In his dreams, he is haunted by the image of his dead wife Mal (Marion Cotillard). He cannot seem to let go of his love for her and she is the image that wrecks his inner memory. The newest member of the team Ariade (Ellen Page) senses that something is not quite right with her new boss, but is so intrigued by all the possibilities of working in dreams that she checks her questioning before the others. Her job is to architect the dream, like a maze designer, so Cobb can function more like he would in a real dream, making it seem more like a reality to the victim. Saito wants the Cobb team to go into the dreams of his competitor in order to gain business leverage. Saito offers Cobb something more than money, a way to get back to the US and his children, the only line he still has with Mal. It seems that Cobb is suspected of having something to do with Mal’s death. Wanting Cobb to implant an idea into the brain of his competitor Robert Fischer Jr. (Cillian Murphy), Saito shows that he will go to any means to win in business. Everyone on the team thinks that placing an idea into an attacked subject cannot be done, everyone except Cobb. His idea is to create different levels of unconsciousness, a dream within a dream within a dream, in order to make Robert think that the implanted idea is his own. If this explanation seems confusing, it is much clearer in the film. The adventure of Inception happens when the team goes inside the mind of Fischer. Visually this is one of the most stunning films of the year. It gives us a magnificent world of dreams to work with–buildings folding on top of buildings and almost dead motion. We get mind explosions that seem real to everyone except the people who are controlling the dream. Shocking someone out of a dream by dunking them becomes a Titanic style flood. The dream collapsing is truly memorable. Each frame if filled to the brim with images that captivate, drawing one into the story. The film takes on some heady concepts like what is truly reality and how one can lose the grasp on what is truly real. It is about how positive emotions trump negative emotions and how one must go downward in a dream to move forward. It is a complicated story that will probably lose many along the way. The concept of how the inner dream takes on a longer life than the first dream is used to a very cinematic exposition. It I had to describe this film I’d call it a mash-up of Total Recall, Eternal Sunshine of the Spottless Mind, Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and Dream scape while at the same time is is nothing that one has ever seen before. Leonardo delivers one of his best performances in years, truly redeeming himself from the mess of Shutter Island. Here we get the same kind of pathos but in a more believable form, even in his REM state. He takes us on a very confusing journey but never attempts to pander. This is a role that he will be remembered with until the end of his career. The lovely Ellen Page looks wonderfully lost as the newcomer. Her awe inspired looks mirror ours, she is just as much a traveler in this world as the audience. I loved Marion Cotillard as Mal, the dead wife. She has the hardest role of the piece, being the image of a real person while being a real person in flashbacks. She walks a confusing path with a definite aplomb. The great Michael Caine shows up in a great little cameo as grandfather.. Inception is a film that will be watched over and over by movie freaks and those who want to catch filmmakers in mistakes. Christopher Nolan has built a film world that will be a point of debate and contention for film fans for years. Geeks will analyze the images of Inception looking for deeper meaning in the cinematic subtext. It is a sprawling mind epic that will captivate legions of film fans. While not for everyone, it is the kind of film that will generate contention and discussion, which is a nice diversion from all the pablum delivered on the Summer Silver Screen.

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