Movie/TV Reviews

Bloodline

Susan Granger’s review of “Bloodline” (Cinema Libre Studio)

Anything that questions the tenets of faith is immediately provocative and controversial and the hypothesis in Bruce Burgess’s “Bloodline” inflames the imagination and pushes the envelope.
This new documentary takes up where Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” left off, presenting evidence that may prove that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene not only married but their bloodline continued in the Languedoc region of southwestern France.
Traveling to the famed church at Rennes-le-Chateau, Burgess and Rene Barnett show the connections between the Church of Mary Magdalene, the Knights Templar and the threat from Opus Dei, utilizing clues in coded artworks with riddles and puzzles left by the priest Berenger Sauniere, who said he’d “found a tomb that could shake the Vatican to the core.”
Demonstrating initial skepticism, the filmmakers analyze artifacts and documents; reveal the discovery of a mummified female body draped in a white shroud with a distinctive red cross, along with relics and coins that were identified by the British Museum and biblical archeologists as dating from first-century Jerusalem; and interview two spokesmen from the secret society known as The Priory of Sion.
So what’s credible and what may be an elaborate hoax? You decide.
While the filmmakers acknowledge, “People sometimes prefer a lie to the truth,” what’s most intriguing, however, is the conjecture that this discovery could, in fact, presage the Second Coming by a further understanding and renewal of Christianity. As the filmmakers note: if Jesus did marry and have a family, that fact might humanize and amplify the significance of His teachings.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Bloodline” is an enthralling 7. If you’re at all intrigued, go to www.thetombman.com – and there’s more to be revealed since further archeological excavation lies ahead.

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What Happens in Vegas

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “What Happens in Vegas” (20th Century Fox)

As tepid romantic comedies go, this one should have stayed in Vegas.
Joy McNally (Cameron Diaz) is an insecure Manhattan commodities trader who was just publicly dumped by her fiancé (Jason Sudeikis). New Yorker slacker Jack Fuller (Ashton Kutcher) was recently fired by his father (Treat Williams) from a furniture-manufacturing job. Along with their respective pals (Lake Bell, Rob Corddry), they meet in Sin City and party hearty one night. The next morning, they wake up hung over – and married. Bickering immediately, they have no intention of staying together but Jack takes a quarter from Joy to put in slot machine and wins three million dollars – which they both claim. Seeking an annulment back in the Big Apple, a cranky judge (Dennis Miller) refuses to resolve the jackpot dispute. Instead, he insists that they try for six months to make their mismatched union work, meeting regularly with a therapist (Queen Latifah). So neatnik Joy moves into sloppy Jack’s apartment and open warfare is declared. In the meantime, Jack charms Joy’s boss (Dennis Farina) while Joy endears herself to Jack’s family.
While any sane couple would simply split the windfall and be thankful for $1.5 million, screenwriter Dana Fox and British director Tom Vaughan struggle with the implausible concept that both Joy and Jack are so selfish and mean-spirited that they’re ready to endure any number of indignities to battle it out. To the victor belong the spoils, etc.
Cameron Diaz is many things – but believable as a stockbroker isn’t one of them. And snarky Ashton Kutcher pushes the charm button too hard. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “What Happens in Vegas” is a flimsy, forgettable 4. Too bad they forgot to pack the fun.

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Speed Racer

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Speed Racer” (Warner Bros.)

If you’re into high-octane car racing, trippy Japanese anime and awesome visuals, this is spectacular family fare.
Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch of “Into the Wild”) is obsessed with racing. Despite the death of his adored older brother, Rex, who was presumably killed in an accident years earlier, the sport is a family passion. His dad (John Goodman) runs an independent racing team with the moral (and culinary) support of his mom (Susan Sarandon) and to the delight of his 11 year-old brother, Spritle (Paulie Litt), along with his pet chimpanzee, and Speed’s perky, helicopter-pilot girl-friend, Trixie (Christina Ricci).
When Speed’s recruited to join ultramodern Royalton Industries, he refuses, infuriating its owner (Roger Allam), who maintains that money rules and the biggest races are ‘fixed’ with the finishing order planned and controlled. If Speed won’t drive his Mach 5 for Royalton, the family business is in jeopardy, along with his life. After preliminary skirmishes, Speed teams up his one-time rival, mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox of “Lost”) who is working with a secret law-enforcement agency. The 91st Annual Grand Prix turns out to be a showdown with corrupt big business.
On their first writing/directing collaboration since the “Matrix” trilogy, Andy and Larry Wachowski spent $120 million – and every penny shows in the 2000+ edgy, vibrant, candy-colored, kaleidoscopic visual effects. They’ve invented a new process of combining CGI with live action, utilizing perspective control that allows two images to be in focus at the same time. Designed by ‘carchitects,’ their World Racing League is an acrobatic, full-contact motor sport, described as ‘Car-Fu,’ automotive martial arts.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Speed Racer” is an intense, adrenaline-pumping, unstoppable 8 – and don’t forget the sleek Hot Wheels tie-in toys, including 1,500 action-figures.

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A Previous Engagement

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “A Previous Engagement” (Buccaneer Films)

As Oscar Wilde said, “The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.”
So when Julia Reynolds (Juliet Stevenson), a Seattle librarian, talks her staid, jigsaw puzzle-obsessed husband Jack (Daniel Stern) into taking a vacation on the Mediterranean island of Malta, she has a secret agenda. Twenty-five years earlier, she made a date there with her first love, Alex (Tcheky Karyo). When the sexy Frenchman, now the editor of a literary magazine in Montreal, not only shows up but vows she’s still his one-and-only true love, Julia is faced with an aching dilemma. Should she leave her family since her two grown daughters have unexpectedly have shown up for the memory of an idyllic romance? And what will happen to unsuspecting Alex when he finds out?
Cleverly written and insightfully directed by Joan Carr-Wiggin (“Honeymoon”), it’s deliciously unpredictable, an emotional roller-coaster ride
or as Julia astutely observes, “If people knew who their mothers really were, the world would end.”
Juliet Stevenson (“Truly, Madly, Deeply,” “Bend It Like Beckham”) is magnificently fearless and desperately funny, striking not a single false note in a highly combustible mixture of emotions. Tcheky Karyo (“The Good Thief,” “The Patriot”) performs with cagey humor and dazzling delicacy, while Daniel Stern (“Home Alone”) is slyly surprising and voraciously smart. As an opportunistic divorcee, Valerie Mahaffey (“Desperate Housewives”) is a radiant comedienne.
Amped by a sensational ‘buy-it-now’ soundtrack that’s perfect for baby boomers, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “A Previous Engagement” is an irresistible 8. It’s the rarest of all things: an intelligent, sophisticated romance with real meat on its bones. You’ll leave the theater with a smile on your face and an answer to the question: Is that all there is?

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dvd/video update

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s dvd/video update for week of Friday, May 2nd

“27 Dresses” is an amusing chick-flick with Katherine Heigl as a perennial bridesmaid who can’t find her own happy ending until she meets a cynical newspaper reporter (James Marsden). It’s a fluffy, frivolous indulgence for those who still enjoy the occasional wedding fantasy.
Adapted from the first book in Phillip Pullman’s sci-fi series, “The Golden Compass” involves a 12 year-old orphan girl (Dakota Blue Richards) who lives in an alternate world under the guardianship of icily manipulative woman (Nicole Kidman) who transports her to the frozen Arctic to find her adventurous uncle (Daniel Craig). It’s light on plot and heavy on CGI, particularly a spectacular showdown between two armored polar bears.
Like “Stomp the Yard,” the Canadian-made “How She Move” showcases another exhilarating urban dance form, starring Ruta Wesley as an energetic Jamaican who joins the all-male “Jane Street Junta.”
Aside from its incongruous title, “What Would Jesus Buy?” is Rob VanAlkemade’s funny and informative examination of the American commercialization of Christmas.
For kids, ages 6 and up, I highly recommend Trevor Romain’s “If You Don’t Take Care of Your Body, Where Else Are You Going to Live?” which issues a fitness challenge, along with his “Cliques, Phonies & Other Baloney,” “Taking the ‘Duh’ Out of Divorce,” “Bullies Are a Pain in the Brain,” “Facing Fear Without Freaking Out,” “How to Do Homework Without Throwing Up” and “What on Earth Do You Do When Someone Dies?”
PICK OF THE WEEK: In French with English subtitles, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” is the story of how 43 year-old Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor-in-chief of Elle France, suffered a stroke and was left almost entirely paralyzed yet dictated a best-selling memoir, communicating only by blinking. It’s a testament to the indomitable human spirit.

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Made of Honor

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Made of Honor” (Columbia Pictures)

This romantic comedy is the first feel-good date movie of May.
Tom (Patrick Dempsey) and Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) have been platonic best friends since college – when he accidentally stumbled into her bed wearing a Bill Clinton mask, intending to seduce her roommate ‘Monica.’ Back then, he invented the ‘coffee collar,’ the paper sleeve that’s made him a millionaire.
Ten years later and still commitment-phobic, Tom’s into sport sex, seducing a different woman every week, never spending consecutive nights with any of them. But Sundays he always spends with Hannah – until a business trip takes her to Scotland, where she meets a hunky, irresistible nobleman, charming Colin McMurray (Kevin McKidd), who sweeps her off her feet and into one of his four castles. The realization that he’s going to lose Hannah jars Tom into the realization of how truly compatible they are and how much he loves her. Heartbroken, he’s determined to woo Hannah back and stop the wedding before she’s gone forever – even if that means enduring the wrath of her bridesmaids and competing in the Highland Games.
As one of today’s most popular leading men, Patrick Dempsey (“Enchanted”) delivers a cleverly roguish performance, and Michelle Monaghan exudes beauty and grace. Admittedly, Adam Sztykiel, Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont’s screenplay is superficial and predictable, albeit from the male perspective, but Paul Weiland’s engaging direction handles the formulaic plot with frothy, improvisational flair. And Weiland’s supporting cast – Kevin McKidd, Sydney Pollack, Kathleen Quinlan – couldn’t be better, nor could his choice of idyllic Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Made of Honor” is an exuberant 8. Boasting three (count ‘em) weddings, it’s a delightful, audience-pleasing, fun-filled fairytale of laughter and love.

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Iron Man

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Iron Man” (Paramount Pictures/Marvel Studios)

What happens when a hip, new superhero appears? He attacks corporate amorality, skewering the military/industrial complex, and changes the geo-political landscape. Too bad he can’t run for President.
When arrogant billionaire playboy/weapons manufacturer Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is in Afghanistan demonstrating his company’s new Jericho missile, he’s kidnapped by insurgents who bomb his convoy. Awakening in a cave, he learns his life has been saved by doctor (Shaun Toub) who implants an electromagnetic device to keep the shrapnel from piercing his heart. While the terrorist leader, Raza (Faran Tahir) demands that he replicate a Jericho out of spare parts, Tony secretly makes a high-tech suit of armor and escapes, looking a bit like the Michelin Man. But his life has been changed.
Back in his Malibu mountaintop mansion, he’s determined to stop making armaments and use his knowledge to wreak vengeance on his captors and save humanity, much to the surprise of his manipulative guardian/mentor (Jeff Bridges), loyal assistant (Gwyneth Paltrow), military liaison (Terrence Howard) and an investigative reporter (Leslie Bibb).
While the making-of-a-superhero story is formulaic, by assembling a high-caliber cast, headed by gifted Robert Downey Jr., director Jon Favreau (“Elf,” “Swingers”) elevates the superhero concept, making it hip, augmenting the imagery with metallic touches from “Iron Giant” and reminiscent tinges of the reclusive lifestyle of Howard Hughes. And credit production designer J. Michael Riva and cinematographer Matthew Libatique for convincing us that there’s really a man with a soul propelling that special effects suit.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Iron Man” is a nifty 9. Make no mistake, though. It’s Robert Downey Jr., having triumphed over his substance abuse battle, who puts the pedal to the metal and scores the freshest new franchise going.

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Deception

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Deception” (20th Century-Fox)

What a waste of talent and money! Burdened with the ineptitude of commercials director Marcel Langenegger, this forgettable wannabe thriller fizzles.
It begins with corporate auditor Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan McGregor) working late in the conference room of a prestigious Manhattan law firm. An amiable attorney, Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman), pops his head in the door and introduces himself. Eventually, they’re sharing marijuana and male bonding. Wimpy, socially awkward Jonathan opens up to confident, gregarious Wyatt, admitting, “I see life, literally, passing me by.”
They meet for tennis, then for lunch in Central Park, where they accidentally swap cell phones just before Wyatt jets off to London on a business trip. Answering Wyatt’s cellphone opens a decadent new world for lonely Jonathan when a woman’s voice seductively inquires, “Are you free tonight?”
The cellphone contains “The List,” the conduit to an upscale sex club where anonymous members meet for “intimacy without intricacy.” After timid trysts with some randy Wall Street executives (Charlotte Rampling, Natasha Hensridge, Maggie Q), Jonathan falls for a mysterious woman (Michelle Williams) whom he can only identify by the initial “S” from the letter on her key ring and is gradually drawn into manipulative Wyatt’s lethal web of treacherous financial intrigue; it’s a slick blackmail scam that grows increasingly preposterous as time goes by.
Written by Mark Bomback (“Live Free or Die Hard”), the clunky concept must have seemed far better on paper to attract actors of this magnitude who soldier on despite the ludicrous plot twists and total lack of eroticism. So when does enigmatic become incoherent? In the hands of an inexperienced director. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Deception” is a devious, implausible 2, a deadly, duplicitous dud.

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Then She Found Me

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Then She Found Me” (ThinkFilm)

Straight from the heart, without restraints, Helen Hunt’s directorial debut is a fresh, funny, fascinating emotional journey.
Raised in a traditional Jewish family, April Epner (Hunt) is a 39 year-old New York primary schoolteacher whose biological clock is ticking so loudly that she can think of little else. An adoptive child herself, she is determined to conceive, much to the chagrin of her immature husband Ben (Matthew Broderick), who deems their marriage a mistake and confesses to an affair.
Obviously distraught and vulnerable at his betrayal, April encounters amorous Frank (Colin Firth), the recently divorced father of one of her young students, who cautions her, “Don’t do anything until you’ve slept. Don’t let anybody try to set you up with anyone.”
To add to April’s confusion, after her adoptive mother dies, a woman purporting to be her birth mother suddenly introduces herself. It’s Bernice (Bette Midler), the brassy host of a local morning TV talk show. Self-deprecating April is skeptical but curious, particularly when Bernice claims that actor Steve McQueen was her father. And then the real romantic complications begin.
Loosely based on a novel by Elinor Lipman and adapted by Alice Arlen, Victor Levin and Hunt, there’s vivid, nuanced storytelling with deft, intelligent dialogue laced with a sense of humor that is both defensive and revealing. Hunt’s graceful direction flows naturally and easily, giving the story an understated authenticity.
The deftly chosen, altogether believable ensemble cast is superb, plus there’s a surprise Salman Rushdie cameo as April’s obstetrician, along with Edie Falco and Janeane Garofalo as Bernice’s celebrity guests.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Then She Found Me” is a stylish yet deeply sensitive 7, lifting your spirit. No one will come away without a smile.

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Baby Mama

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Baby Mama” (Universal Pictures)

With every magazine extolling “baby bumps” and the awareness of thirtysomethings that their biological clock is ticking, there’s no question that this romantic comedy is timely.
And perhaps I expected too much when two of the funniest comediennes from “Saturday Night Live” – Tiny Fey and Amy Poehler – teamed up with writer/director Michael McCullers and producers Lorne Michaels and John Goldwyn.
Businesswoman Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey) has always been so focused on her career at Philadelphia’s Round Earth Organic Market – catering to her New Age guru boss (Steve Martin) – that she never considered having a family. But now that she’s ready, apparently, her uterus isn’t. Discouraged about adoption, she turns to Chaffee Bricknell’s (Sigourney Weaver) maternal ‘outsourcing’ agency that teams her up with a ‘gestational assistant’ or surrogate, scheming Angie Ostrowiski (Amy Poehler). Or, as Kate’s wisecracking doorman (Romany Malco) dubs her, “the baby mama.”
But Angie’s saddled with a sleazy, duplicitous common-law husband (Dax Shepard) whom she eventually leaves – and moves in with Kate. They’re a female “Odd Couple”: Kate’s an obsessed perfectionist, while Angie’s a junk-food gobbling slob. To add to the confusion, Kate’s falling in love with a local fruit juice-bar owner (Greg Kinnear), a single father. Of course, eventually, everyone discovers what the non-traditional concept of ‘family’ is really all about.
While seasoned as the writer of two successful “Austin Powers” pictures, Michael McCullers, who once shared a “SNL” office with Tina Fey, could have used a more experienced comedy director; this is his first feature film – and it shows, not only in the pacing but in the woefully weak third act. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Baby Mama” is a wry, satirical 7. It’s just not as hip as I was hoping.

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