Movie/TV Reviews

A Good Year

Susan Granger’s review of “A Good Year” (20th Century-Fox)

Think of it as the diluted male version of the romantic fable “Under the Tuscan Sun.”
The prologue is set in a small, idyllic vineyard in the south of France, where a sneaky British lad named Max Skinner (Freddie Highmore) learns life-lessons from his Uncle Henry (Albert Finney).
“Many vintages later,” Max (Russell Crowe) has grown up and become a callous, insensitive yet highly successful London bonds trader. Notified that his uncle has died and left him the chateau, Max is determined to repair the dilapidated “La Siroque” and sell it, much to the dismay of its winemaking caretakers (Didier Bourdon, Isabelle Candelier). While in Provence, Max is intrigued by feisty Fanny Chanel (Marion Cotillard), a local cafŽ owner who flashes her derriere, and surprised by the unexpected arrival of Christie (Abbie Cornish), a spunky Napa Valley ‘cousin’ who claims that rascally Uncle Henry was her father. And of course, French laws honor claims of illegitimate children.
Despite their successful “Gladiator” collaboration, neither director Ridley Scott nor Crowe seem comfortable with light, romantic comedy, so the result is, at times, quite heavy-handed and strained, laced together with clumsy pratfalls, goofy slapstick and repeatedly flipping off French cyclists with ‘Lance Armstrong’ taunts. Adapted by Marc Klein from Peter Mayle’s novel “A Year in Provence,” the clichŽ, contrived characters lack depth, the romance seems forced and even the most humorous moments are slightly vinegary.
On the other hand, Abbie Cornish is a charmer, and Philippe Le Sourd’s sun-drenched cinematography makes you want to head for the nearest travel agent. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “A Good Year” is a slick, sweet, superficial 6, but it’s only occasionally intoxicating.

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The Santa Claus 3: The Escape Clause

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “The Santa Claus 3: The Escape Clause” (Disney)

The “Santa Claus” franchise has explored the precarious balance between work and family – with the Christmas Eve deadline looming.
Now Scott Calvin/Santa (Tim Allen) and Mrs. Claus (Elizabeth Mitchell) are expecting their first child together, while jealous Jack Frost (Martin Short) whines, “All I am is a setup man for Mr. Big.”
So when Santa decides to fly in his meddlesome in-laws (Alan Arkin, Ann-Margret) for the impending birth, conniving Frost seizes the moment to usurp the red suit.
There’s also a zany scheme to disguise the North Pole as Canada and the elves as tiny Canadians so the in-laws will believe their rotund son-in-law is a mere toymaker in the frigid provinces – since he’s never told them he’s Father Christmas – and the inclusion of Scott’s teenage son (Eric Lloyd), his ex-wife (Wendy Crewson), her psycho-babbling husband (Judge Reinhold) and snow globe-loving daughter (Liliana Mumy).
Tim Allen looks tired and pained, perhaps because Martin Short is irritating and annoying, except when he’s singing a “North Pole, North Pole” adaptation of Kander and Ebb’s “New York, New York” in a cheesy, chintzy theme park dedicated to the commercial concept that parental love should be judged by how much they spent on presents.
Writers Ed Decter and John J. Strauss patch together elements of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Elf” and “The In-Laws,” while director Michael Lembeck relies on flatulent reindeer and cameos from Kevin Pollak (Cupid), Jay Thomas (Easter Bunny) and Peter Boyle (Father Time) with a touch of glamour from Aisha Tyler (Mother Nature). On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause” becomes a slushy 3 – the gag reel that plays over the credits is funnier than the film.

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Stranger Than Fiction

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Stranger Than Fiction” (Sony/Columbia)

If you’re into existentialist cinema – mixing fantasy with reality – this is for you. Otherwise, it’s implausible paradox of ‘free will’ that defies explanation.
Mild-mannered Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) is an agent for the Internal Revenue Service in Chicago. He’s a cautious loner, following the same regimented routine every day. Suddenly, one morning, while brushing his teeth, he hears a female voice narrating the play-by-play of this morning ritual, as if to an audience. Bewildered and concerned because the ‘voice’ has told him he’s going to die, Harold seeks help. First from a colleague (Tony Hale), then from a psychiatrist (Linda Hunt), finally from a literature professor (Dustin Hoffman), who recommends that, if he thinks he’s going to die, he should start living the life he’s always wanted. That leads Harold into taking up the guitar and making fumbling romantic moves on a sexy bohemian baker (Maggie Gyllenhaal) whom he’s currently auditing.
Meanwhile, an experienced assistant (Queen Latifah) has been dispatched to help reclusive, angst-ridden novelist Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson), who is struggling to find an ending to Harold’s story which, it seems, she is, indeed, telling.
Playwright-turned-screenwriter 31 year-old Zach Helm seems to be channeling “Adaptation,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “The Truman Show” with this engaging, inventive metaphysical concept which director Marc Forster (“Finding Neverland”) meticulously mainstreams, grounding the vivid fantasy just enough to allow the audience to suspend disbelief.
While the experienced ensemble cast delivers on the drama, it’s Will Ferrell who surprises, creating an eager vulnerability with an undercurrent of desperation. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Stranger Than Fiction” is a satisfying, inspirational 7. It’s the trippy process of storytelling that counts.

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Happy Feet

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Happy Feet” (Warner Bros.)

“If ‘Babe’ was the ‘talking-pig’ movie, then this is the ‘dancing-penguin’ movie,” says writer/director George Miller. Indeed, he was working on the computer and stop-motion animation long before the success of “March of the Penguins.”
In Antarctica, Emperor Penguins huddle together against the cold and sing to find a mate. Apparently, each penguin has a distinctive voice and that’s how they locate each other on the ice shelf. But little Mumble (voiced by Elijah Wood) can only squawk, much to the consternation of his Elvis-influenced dad (voiced by Hugh Jackman) and Marilyn-breathy mom, Norma Jean (voiced by Nicole Kidman).
Instead of warbling, Mumbles prefers to tap dance (steps by Broadway’s Savion Glover). “Don’t ask me to change ’cause I can’t,” he begs.
Isolated and ostracized for being “different,” Mumbles makes friends with a group of five wisecracking Latino penguins, led by Ramon (voiced by Robin Williams). While he loves his perilous adventures with “Los Penguinos,” like meeting the elephant seals (one voiced by the late Steve Irwin), Mumbles’ rhythmic match is his classmate Gloria (voiced by Brittany Murphy), who appreciates his hippity-hop and loves him for who he is.
In addition to the message of self-acceptance, there’s also an ecology-themed subplot in which the Rockhopper guru Lovelace (also voiced by Robin Williams) is choking on a discarded plastic six-pack ring that circles his neck, and the future of the whole flock is endangered because their fish supply is rapidly disappearing into nets.
The eclectic soundtrack ranges from the Beach Boys to the Beatles, from vintage Queen to a new song by Prince. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Happy Feet” flips in with a fun-filled, nimble 9. It puts a smile on your face and a song in your heart – a Heartsong!

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Flushed Away

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Flushed Away” (Paramount Pictures)

From the animation team that created “Shrek” and “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” comes this action-packed adventure set under the streets of London.
Roddy St. James (voiced by Hugh Jackman) is a pampered ‘posh’ pet mouse who lives as in a gilded cage, a mouse mansion, in Kensington. When a lowly sewer rat, Sid (voiced by Shane Richie), spews from the sink to watch the World Cup on television, fastidious Roddy tries to get rid of him by luring him into the “whirlpool bath” but gets flushed away instead. Suddenly, he’s plunged into the subterranean world of Ratropolis, where he meets a sassy, spunky rodent named Rita (voiced by Kate Winslet), a scavenger who comes to Roddy’s rescue with her boat, the Jammy Dodger. The villains are power-hungry Boss Toad (voiced by Ian McKellen) with his hench-rats (voiced by Andy Serkis, Bill Nighy) and his mercenary French cousin, Le Frog (voiced by Jean Reno).
Written by Sam Fell, Peter Lord, Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan and Will Davies and directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, it’s fast-paced and steeped in crude British culture, which may be a bit confusing for youngsters who will giggle, nevertheless, at the many body-function jokes. Adults will appreciate the dry, often ironic one-liners, perhaps even the Kafka jokes.
CGI animation meticulously replicates the surreal look and feel of the stop-motion Claymation for which Aardman was best known, and the voice-casting is spot-on. My favorites were the singing slugs, blob-like creatures who warble pop songs, commenting on the action, like a Greek chorus – with credit due to Harry Gregson-Williams’ score. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Flushed Away” is a witty, if chaotic 8, not just for kids.

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Fast Food Nation

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Fast Food Nation” (Fox Searchlight)

Based on Eric Schlosser’s investigative bestseller, this attempt to expose the distasteful American food industry, unfortunately, never reaches the heights – or depths – of Upton Sinclair’s muckraking novel “The Jungle” that shocked the nation 100 years ago.
Set in the Colorado town of Cody, all the characters are – in some way – connected with the fictional Mickey’s, a highly successful restaurant mega-chain famous for its gigantic hamburger called “The Big One.” There’s the genial but inquisitive corporate executive (Greg Kinnear) who is dispatched to Cody’s meat-packing plant to investigate meat contamination; the low-paid, undocumented Mexican slaughterhouse workers (Wilmer Valderrama, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Ana Claudia Talancon) and their ‘coyote’ (Luis Guzman); the sexually-predatory plant supervisor (Bobby Cannavale); a longtime rancher (Kris Kristofferson); a pragmatic cattle buyer (Bruce Willis); the teenagers (Ashley Johnson, Paul Dano) who work behind the counter; and a young eco-terrorist (Lou Taylor Pucci).
Best known for his whimsical “Dazed and Confused,” “Before Sunrise,” “Before Sunset” and “School of Rock,” cult filmmaker Richard Linklater, a confirmed vegetarian, utilized the title “Coyote” when he was filming undercover in Colorado, Texas and Mexico, evoking memories of Morgan Spurlock’s far-superior “Super Size Me.”
But the laid-back Linklater and co-scripter Schlosser are far too gentle, eschewing ‘agiprop,’ concentrating, instead, on realistic dialogue and a deliberately unhurried approach, never pushing the unpalatable, subversive narrative with the caustic tone that a Robert Altman-helmed ensemble might take. So with many meat-safety issues still undetected, the nutritional value in question and the rampant consumption of junk food making American adolescents obese, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Fast Food Nation” is a timely, unappetizing 4 – illustrating the folly of unsavory consumption.

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Tristan & Isolde

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Tristan & Isolde” (20th Century-Fox)

Based on a Celtic myth about star-crossed lovers, this reworking of the murky romantic drama revolves around a classic tragic hero who is torn between loyalty to his king and love for a princess.
Shortly after the Fall of the Roman Empire, Ireland conquered the tribes of Briton. During one of the battles, Tristan of Aragon (James Franco), the adopted nephew of the-man-who-would-be-king of England, Lord Marke (Rufus Sewell), is presumed dead and cast out from the Cornish coast into the sea. But he’s alive and drifts ashore on the emerald isle, where Isolde (Sophia Myles) the beautiful daughter of tyrannical King Donnchadh (David O’Hara), finds him and nurses him back to health. But the on-going war is inevitable so, despite their passionate trysts, hopes for a future together are bleak, particularly when Isolde is obliged to marry Lord Marke and then sneaks around with Tristan until their secret is betrayed.
Director Kevin Reynolds (“Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” “Waterworld”) and screenwriter Dean Georgaris (“The Manchurian Candidate,” “Paycheck”) drift far from Richard Wagner’s Schopenhauer-soaked opera, coming closer, instead, to the Arthurian legend of Lancelot and Guinevere. Sophie Myles sizzles while James Franco smolders and Rufus Sewell is stalwart.
Years ago, Ridley Scott optioned this project and his input as executive producer explains the superb production values, particularly in the swordplay and combat scenes. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Tristan & Isolde” is a poignant 7. It’s an old-fashioned, history-heavy forbidden romance that lends itself to many different interpretations.

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Glory Road

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Glory Road” (Disney/Buena Vista)

To conclude Black History month, this is the hallelujah story of the 1966 Texas Western Miners, who won the NCAA Championship with an all-black lineup against the all-white University of Kentucky Wildcats. That pivotal game helped fuel desegregation in America.
In “Glory Road,” Don Haskins (Josh Lucas) is a high school girls basketball coach who accepts a job at Texas Western University (now the University of Texas at El Paso). Ever resourceful despite the lack of a recruiting budget, Haskins offers scholarships to outstanding African/American athletes from Houston, Detroit, New York, and Gary, Indiana.
Written by Christopher Cleveland and his wife Bettina Gilois and directed by James Gartner, it not only manipulates but skirts the truth on several issues. Even before Haskins’ arrival, Texas Western was the first Southern college to integrate its athletic teams; in fact, Haskins inherited three black players from his predecessor. And Haskins’ team won the championship in his sixth season not his first.
Grappling with clichŽ’d dialogue (“It’s not about talent, it’s about heat”), the actors must struggle to differentiate each player’s personality. Derek Luke stars as Bobby Joe Hill, whose resentment of racism propels his athletic performance, while Damaine Radcliffe, as Willie “Scoops” Cager, fights to overcome a heart ailment and Mehcad Brooks, as Harry Flournoy, struggles to keep up his scholastics. Jon Voight scores as legendary Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp, and the cinematography by John Toon and Jeffrey Kimball is compelling. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Glory Road” is a sappy, slam-dunk 6, formulating yet another slick underdog sports story.

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Nanny McPhee

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Nanny McPhee” (Universal Pictures)

Nanny McPhee is the most magical child minder to come along since Mary Poppins.
In Victorian England, Cedric Brown (Colin Firth), the village mortician, has been left a widower with seven naughty, undisciplined children who exasperate the cantankerous cook (Imelda Staunton) and scullery maid (Kelly MacDonald). To add to his woes, he’s been told by rich, imperious Aunt Adelaide (Angela Lansbury) that he must marry again within a month and give the children a new mother or lose the allowance on which he has supported his family. Suddenly, stern Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) arrives. Unorthodox and unattractive, she’s has a long, dark uni-brow; a bulbous red nose; fleshy, drooping earlobes; two large, brown, hairy warts; and a snaggle tooth – quite the opposite of pretty Mary Poppins. Instead of pulling things out of her carpetbag, she has a crooked cane that, magically, transforms chaos into proper order. And as she teaches the beleaguered Brown family five important lessons, the manners and the behavior of the mischievous children change, along with Nanny McPhee’s physical appearance.
Emma Thompson, who won an Oscar for her “Sense and Sensibility” screenplay, cleverly adapts the “Nurse Matilda” books by Christianna Brand, while Kirk Jones (“Waking Ned Devine”) directs with wryly wicked charm but few surprises. The CGI scenes are fun, particularly the comic pratfalls and colorful food fights. The Shakespeare-trained acting ensemble, which includes Derek Jacobi, Celia Imrie and Patrick Barlow, is superb, as are the children, led by Thomas Sangster, who played Liam Neeson’s son in “Love Actually.” On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Nanny McPhee” is a whimsical, storybook 7, teaching a valuable lesson that children not only need love and attention but also can handle honesty from adults.

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Big Momma’s House 2

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Big Momma’s House 2” (20th Century-Fox)

When a comedy isn’t funny, it’s pathetic, and when it recycles an over-used fat suit, it’s gross.
Manic comedian Martin Lawrence is back as Malcolm Turner, the FBI agent who goes undercover as sassy, plus-sized grandmother, Hattie Mae Pierce. This time, he’s in Orange County, California, posing as a nanny in order to work his way into the home of a suspicious tech company executive, Tom Fuller (Mark Moses), who is suspected of designing a deadly computer worm that could, potentially, compromise government secrets, and his over-organized, high-strung wife (Emily Procter). Of course, he has no idea how to care for their three neglected children, ages toddler through teen, and his obvious ineptitude at simple household tasks is played for laughs, as are his visits to a fancy spa and to the beach, where zaftig Big Momma, clad in a canary-yellow bathing suit and blonde cornrows, cavorts in slow motion, like Bo Derek in “10.”
Under the direction of John Whitesell (“Malibu’s Most Wanted”), Martin Lawrence seems to be going through his paces as a clowning caricature, rather than a character, along with Nia Long, as his very pregnant wife. Of course, the lame, formulaic plot, lifted from “Mrs. Doubtfire” by screenwriter Don Rhymer, offers them little to work with except a tequila-guzzling Chihuahua and cheesy, sentimental solutions for a dysfunctional family. And if Mark Moses looks familiar, you’ve seen him as Paul Young on “Desperate Housewives.” On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Big Momma’s House 2” is an embarrassing, one-joke 1. It’s a dreadful debacle, made worse by Lawrence’s promise/threat, “Keep a lookout. You never know when Big Momma might be back.”

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