Movie/TV Reviews

The Bread, My Sweet

Susan Granger’s review of “The Bread, My Sweet” (Panorama Entertainment)

This unexpectedly perceptive romantic fable captures the evocative emotions of an Italian-American immigrant family coping with catastrophes and changes. After Lucca (Kristin Minter), their beloved only daughter, joined the Peace Corps to explore the world, cheery, nurturing Bella (Rosemary Prinz) and cantankerous Massimo (John Seitz) befriended an amiable, ambitious young man named Dominic (Scott Baio) and his two brothers: amorous Eddie (Billy Mott) and mentally-retarded Pino (Shuler Hensley). “Three years ago, I don’t know your name,” Bella marvels to Dominic. “Now, you are my son.” They run a bakery on the ground floor of Bella’s building in the quaint Strip district of Pittsburgh. But with his MBA, Dominic also has another career. He’s a financially successful corporate raider whose distasteful job is to fire the executives and employees of the companies his firm has acquired. Then a crisis on the homefront occurs. Dominic discovers that Bella has cancer – and he knows that the only way that the elderly woman will die happy is if he can find he wayward, wandering Lucca and marry her. After all, for years, Bella has been stuffing coffee cans with cash to spend on Lucca’s wedding. “I do deals,” Dominic explains, “and there’s a very small window of opportunity here.” The convincing performances and realistic dialogue allow you to suspend disbelief as the simplistic yet sincere ethnic story unfolds. In that way, writer/director Melissa Martin cleverly draws you into an improbably contrived courtship that’s rife with deception. So, despite a cloying, often intrusive soundtrack, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Bread, My Sweet” is a corny but charming 6. It satisfies – like a “My Big Fat Italian Breading.”

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Out of Time

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Out of Time” (MGM)

This slick crime melodrama re-teams the “Training Day” duo of Denzel Washington and Eva Mendes. Set on Florida’s steamy Gold Coast, he plays Matt Lee Whitlock, police chief of Banyan Key; she’s Alex, his estranged wife who’s also a detective. When there’s arson and a brutal double homicide, he becomes the prime suspect. Only the situation is far more complicated. It seems Matt has been committing adultery with Ann (Sanaa Lathan), his high-school sweetheart who’s married to an abusive former football player (Dean Cain). And when he learns that she’s dying of cancer, he steals $500,000 in drug money from the evidence room. That’s so Ann can get alternative treatment in Switzerland – on the understanding that he’ll get that money back since she’s designated him as the beneficiary of a $1 million life-insurance policy. Yeah. First-time screenwriter Dave Collard has crafted a neo-noir’ish thriller with an overly-contrived plot that twists and turns as elusive parts of the puzzle slip into place. As a result, it’s more intriguing than credible. So director Carl Franklin (“Devil in a Blue Dress,” “High Crimes”) uses every cinematic trick-of-the-trade to try to keep the tension taut – with the aid of cinematographer Theo Van de Sande. Although not totally believable, Denzel Washington is persuasive, as is the rest of the cast. Which means the characters are more convincing than the circumstances in which they find themselves. And Josh Billingsley offers some needed comic relief as the medical examiner. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Out of Time” is a sultry, suspenseful 6. If you’re a fan of this genre, you’ll be able to trace this film’s antecedents to “No Way Out” and “Body Heat.” Too bad it doesn’t measure up to either.

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Mystic River

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Mystic River” (Warner Bros.)

Clint Eastwood’s new thriller is, basically, a character study, revolving around three youths – Jimmy, Sean and Dave – who grew up in East Buckingham, a working-class neighborhood near Boston. When they were 11 years-olds, playing in the street, two pedophiles, posing as policemen, kidnapped Dave, seemingly the most vulnerable, forcing him into their car. His physical molestation and psychological torture haunts all three for the rest of their lives. Their paths converge again 25 years later. Now Jimmy (Sean Penn) has a corner grocery store in the old neighborhood. He’s an ex-con-gone-straight who’s devoted to his wife (Laura Linney) and three daughters. Dave (Tim Robbins) has a wife (Marcia Gay Harden) and young son. And Sean (Kevin Bacon) is a homicide detective whose wife has inexplicably run off. Fate brings them together when Jimmy’s oldest daughter (Emmy Rossum) is found beaten to death in a park. Look for an Oscar nomination for Sean Penn whose intense performance is ferocious yet tinged with the subtle shadings of a watercolor. Tim Robbins delivers a richly detailed and affecting characterization of a secretive, dysfunctional man, while Kevin Bacon exudes a riveting screen presence as a cop doing his duty. In her own quiet way, Laura Linney is strong and surprisingly compelling, and Marcia Gay Harden is captures a tormented woman’s heartbreaking desperation. As director, Clint Eastwood once again displays an astonishing visual sense and Brian Helgeland renders Dennis Lehane’s novel into a provocative screenplay. Problem is: it’s too obvious whodunit. That’s a big blunder. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Mystic River” is a tense, gripping 8. It’s a cleverly complex, powerful and original American tragedy.

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The Rundown

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “The Rundown” (Universal Pictures)

After “The Scorpion King,” there’s no doubt that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a cinematic force to be reckoned with and, not surprisingly, this wrestler-turned-actor once again emerges as a competent, if not charismatic, actor. This action-packed Amazon adventure follows a bounty hunter, or “retrieval expert,” named Beck (The Rock) who reluctantly goes into the jungle to retrieve Travis (Seann William Scott, a.k.a. Stifler in “American Pie”), the runaway son of a Los Angeles loan shark. The kid’s a smart-aleck treasure hunter who has discovered the location of a valuable golden idol that’s hidden in a booby-trapped cave. This prized artifact is also coveted by a villainous, greedy American (Christopher Walken).and an enigmatic bar-wench/rebel leader (Rosario Dawson) with a secret. In addition to “Option A” or “Option B,” there’s hallucinogenic fruit, hostile monkeys, exploited gold-miners and perils in the mining town called Helldorado. Utilizing a formulaic “buddy” script by R.J. Stewart and James Vanderbilt, actor-turned-director Peter Berg (“Very Bad Things”), decided to shoot in Hawaii rather than go for Amazonian authenticity – for good reason. When he was scouting locations in Brazil with producer Kevin Misher, they were ambushed by native gunmen and robbed of their cash and computers. Oahu was a lot safer. And the idea of having Arnold Schwarzenegger do a cameo is clever; his off-hand – “Have fun” – line kind of signifies passing the action-hero torch to a successor. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Rundown” is a testosterone-propelled 5. Actually, the most exciting fight sequence is featured in the theatrical trailer as The Rock braves a smackdown from native tribesmen, including a tiny Brazilian kick-boxer.

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School of Rock

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “School of Rock” (Paramount Pictures)

If you saw “High Fidelity,” you may remember Jack Black as John Cusack’s music-obsessed buddy. In “Shallow Hal,” he was the guy who fell hopelessly in love with Gwyneth Paltrow. Or you might know him as the lead singer for the rock-folk parody group “Tenacious D.” Now Jack Black’s center-stage as Dewey Finn, a slovenly, obnoxious bass guitarist. On the same day, he’s fired from his own garage-band and evicted by his roommate (Mike White). Desperate and delusional, he scams a job as a substitute teacher at the proper, prestigious Horace Green Elementary School, run by prim Rosalie Mullins (Joan Cusack). A slacker who’s content to doze, he’s appalled when his yuppified, over-achieving fifth-grade students cite Christina Aguilera, Liza Minnelli and the musical “Annie” as their musical influences. Discovering that some of the shy, 10 year-old nerds have real musical talent, he decides to create his own pint-sized musical group and enter an upcoming Battle of the Bands. “I serve society by rocking!” the rebellious Dewey says, turning his home-room into “The School of Rock.” After years of creating quirky films for art-house theaters, independent director Richard Linklater (“Waking Life,” “Dazed and Confused”) and screenwriter Mike White (“The Good Girl”) have come up with a hip, really commercial concept. There’s satirical humor and there’s joyous heart. And by casting moppets with real musical talent, there’s a core of authenticity beneath the obvious fantasy. Above all, there’s charismatic Jack Black whose Dewey Finn evokes memories of Prof. Harold Hill in “The Music Man.” On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “School of Rock” is a cool, fun-filled 8 – and recommended for the whole family.

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Intolerable Cruelty

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Intolerable Cruelty” (Universal Pictures)

Quirky filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen dive into the polluted matrimonial waters of Beverly Hills in this romantic collusion with George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Clooney plays Miles Massey, a suave divorce attorney who continually obsesses over his pearly white teeth, while Zeta-Jones is beautiful Marylin Rexroth, a sexy, gold-digging serial divorcee. When Miles’ underhanded courtroom tactics cost Marilyn a hefty settlement, she’s surprisingly calm. Her Shakespearean barbs and unflappable one-upsmanship demeanor intrigue Miles, particularly when she unexpectedly hires him to write an ironclad pre-nup for her next marriage to a Texas oil billionaire (Billy Bob Thornton). Miles thinks he’s clever and calculating, but he’s met his conniving match in Marylin. That’s all I’ll reveal about her surprising revenge. The eccentric Coen humor – which was far more wry, sardonic and darkly edged in “Raising Arizona,” “The Big Lebowski” and “Fargo” – is broader and more conventional here, perhaps due to the screenwriting input of Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone. Consider “The War of the Roses” run-in-reverse – the divorce preceding the romantic entanglement – with Clooney evoking the comedic memory of Cary Grant. Remember the Coens’ previous Clooney collaboration in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” And there’s more evidence when supporting players like Geoffrey Rush and Cedric the Entertainer are as top-notch as Clooney and exquisite Catherine Zeta-Jones. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Intolerable Cruelty” is a ruthlessly funny, farcical 8. It’s just a shame that so much of this screwball battle-of-the-sexes romp was revealed in the TV commercials and theatrical trailer.

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Veronica Guerin

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Veronica Guerin” (Buena Vista Films/Disney)

This time of year, there are a number of ‘performance pieces,” showcasing the talents of a star. That’s the case here, as Cate Blanchett (“Elizabeth”) brings to life the true story of a crusading Irish journalist whose campaign against drug dealers made her a national folk heroine. In the mid-1990s, unbeknownst to the police, Dublin was an underground war zone with drug lords battling for control. Some 15,000 people a day shot heroin; eight kids under age 15 died in one neighborhood alone. Yet only one curious reporter, Veronica Guerin, realized how pervasive the drug culture was and how Ireland was being used to fuel England’s narcotic traffic. Despite her familial obligations as a wife and mother, she was tenaciously determined to expose the culprits – whatever the cost. Unfortunately, writers Carol Doyle and Mary Agnes Donogue remove all suspense and conflict by revealing the ending in the opening minutes of the story. Directed by Joel Schumacher, luminous Cate Blanchett personifies the intrepid reporter who was shot, beaten up and killed for refusing to back off the Irish Mafia. To her credit, Blanchett tries valiantly to rise above the naive, self-centered recklessness of her martyred character, while Brenda Fricker advises caution as her mother. Ciaran Hinds plays John “The Coach” Traynor, Guerin’s manipulative snitch, with Gerard McSorley as the brutal drug lord Gilligan. Colin Farrell does a distracting soccer-fan cameo. (And if the story seems familiar, in 2000, John Mackenzie made “When the Sky Falls” with Joan Allen as Sinead Hamilton, a fictional writer whose exploits were based on Guerin.) On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Veronica Guerin” is a biographical 6, an homage to Cate Blanchett’s powerful, pugnacious performance.

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Kill Bill, Vol. 1

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Kill Bill, Vol. 1” (Miramax Films)

Quentin Tarantino is a stylish celluloid craftsman. Telling a visual story isn’t as important to him as toying with garish cinematic images, and he’s besotted with the pain and perversity of violence. That’s why this pulpy, self-indulgent film so closely resembles an intense video game. Uma Thurman stars as The pregnant Bride, who is betrayed on her wedding day by the titular Bill (heard-but-barely-seen David Carradine) who kills everyone at the nuptials. Left for dead, miraculously, she recovers and vows revenge against Bill and his Assassination Squad. Not to be confused with “Charlie’s Angels,” they’re Bill’s butt-kickers. First, she slaughters the Viper (Viveca A. Fox), who has become a Pasadena housewife with a four year-old daughter. Then it’s off to Tokyo to slice-and-dice O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu), the white-robed yakuza gang leader, in a moonlit, snow-drenched Japanese garden. And the hitwoman has more names on her list. Obviously influenced by Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns, Tarantino has fashioned a vengeance-propelled, chop-socky eastern filled with pop culture references lifted from Japanese, Italian and Hong-Kong B-films as well as American TV. Originally shot as one movie, it’s been divided in half with a cliffhanger, and Vol. 2 is scheduled for a February release. This serial concept is not without precedent. In the early 1970s, Richard Lester’s “The Three Musketeers” was bifurcated, as opposed to the back-to-back shooting of “Lord of the Rings” and “Matrix.” On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Kill Bill, Vol. 1” is an action-packed, excessive 8, but don’t buy a ticket unless you’re ready to be drenched in a bloodbath. It’s recommended for fighting enthusiasts and die-hard film-buffs who will appreciate the audacious allusions.

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Runaway Jury

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Runaway Jury” (20th Century Fox)

When the widow of a young stockbroker who was killed in an office shooting takes the gun manufacturer to court, a high-stakes trial in New Orleans results. The CEO of the Vicksburg Gun Company that manufactured the assault weapon used in the murder knows that a negative verdict could adversely affect the entire firearms industry, so he hires Rankin Fitch, a top-notch jury consultant, to advise his attorney (Bruce Davison). The widow (Joanna Going) is represented by a crusading veteran lawyer Wendall Rohr (Dustin Hoffman), who – at first – hasn’t a clue about Fitch’s high-tech jury tampering plot. Then an intriguing ‘wild card’ appears in the form of an outwardly reluctant but secretly savvy juror (John Cusack) who – with his mysterious accomplice (Rachel Weisz) – demands $10 million to deliver a favorable verdict, payable by either side. Gene Hackman is convincing as the Machiavellian manipulator who asserts, “Trials are too important to be left up to juries.” He plays perfectly off Dustin Hoffman’s carefully calculated yet incorruptible morality, evoking memories of Gregory Peck’s Atticus Finch in “To Kill A Mockingbird.” Keep in mind this is Hackman’s third film based on a John Grisham novel, following “The Firm” and “The Chamber” – and it’s his first pairing with Dustin Hoffman. Writer/director Gary Fleder (“Don’t Say a Word”) with his team of four screenwriters have turned the anti-tobacco bias of the novel into an anti-gun agenda. He keeps the tension taut as plot twists and the stakes slowly rise in the picturesque French Quarter, superbly photographed by Christopher Young. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Runaway Jury” is a slick, compelling, suspenseful 8, emphasizing the moral ambiguity that’s at the heart of this thriller.

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Wonderland

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Wonderland” (Lions Gate Films)

The adult movie industry is thriving, churning out some 6,000 pornographic movies a year and allegedly grossing more than $4 billion, about the same as the National Football League. One of its legendary stars was John Holmes, who inspired the Dirk Diggler character in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Boogie Nights.” Related in a feverish, frenetic style and told from different points-of-view, like Kurosawa’s “Roshomon,” this story traces how Holmes was implicated in a real-life, notoriously gruesome multiple homicide that took place on Wonderland Avenue in Los Angeles’s Laurel Canyon back in 1981. Well-endowed John Holmes (Val Kilmer) is depicted as a self-destructive, hedonistic, cocaine-addicted hustler who not only knew all the murder victims but was somehow involved with the violent revenge crime. Whirling within his sleazy circle are two women: Holmes’ long-suffering, estranged wife (Lisa Kudrow) and his devoted teenage girl-friend (Kate Bosworth). And on the unsavory outside are the seriously nasty gangster Eddie Nash (Eric Bogosian), local drug dealers (Josh Lucas, Christina Applegate) and a bearded biker (Dylan McDermott). Director James Cox and his multiple screenwriters seriously overestimate our interest in any of these contemptible characters, let alone who did what to whom and why. Cameos by Carrie Fisher, Janeane Garofalo and swimsuit-clad socialite Paris Hilton contribute little more than a distraction, while Michael Grady’s gritty, hand-held cinematography and Jeff McEvoy’s kinetic editing add to the frustration. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Wonderland” is a sordid, incoherent 2. Don’t even consider wasting your time or money on these drugged-out losers.

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