tnealon-1 Reviews

Charlie Bartlett (2007)

Owes much more to Harold and Maude

[8/10 · 27 June 2008]

While there are certainly surface similarities with Rushmore and Ferris Buehler, Charlie Bartlett owes much more, stylistically and thematically to Harold and Maude (a fact which the film makers gave a nod to with the inclusion of If you Want to Sing Out). There is ample reason to give the film your suspension of disbelief - even just the likability of the characters and the dialog that doesn't scream "ironic indie teen film" in every conversation. Sure there are also a ton of reasons to dislike the movie, but you really have to want to dislike it - the only real problem is that, like most "indie" (that is, trying to be indie) films these days, it tends to smooth over too many potentially interestingly jagged edges. Quite enjoyable and likable though, and well worth anyone's hour and a half.

Bordertown (2007)

A for effort even if it's only a C

[7/10 · 28 February 2007]

Other than Antonio Banderas (who mails it in as usual, though at least he took all that crap out of his hair), the cast does a more than adequate job or portraying an important story. Eva, in particular, evokes a genuine sense of despair and hope strung together simultaneously. While the script and dialog are unquestionably formulaic, the pathos of the story and evocation of place save this story and the acting is workman like if not fantastic. Not much has been said about the effects of NAFTA and the bordertowns like Juarez that have sprung up and swallowed communities whole and this movie is at least a step in the right direction for rectifying this and telling at least a fragment of an important tale. This movie could only possibly be funny to someone who thought Schindler's List was a real hoot as well.

Happy Feet (2006)

Penguins are done

[3/10 · 13 February 2007]

I'm sure it would have been o.k. a couple years ago, but it turns out that most people have a penguin limit and most of us reached it before this movie came out. Bad luck, but there it is - any normal person (if normal people have seen at least two other penguin related movies in the last year) will take about 15 minutes of this - what with the singing and bathetic attempts at emotional involvement - before they have to turn it off or decapitate themselves just to make it stop. Whoever decided that penguins were easy enough to anthropomorphisize that we could just start telling whichever stories occurred to us using penguins in lieu of people was sadly mistaken. There was a similar run on dolphin stories when I was a kid, one with whales a few years later, and one that ended very poorly involving dinosaurs not long ago. It's over, pack up the smelt and go home.

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio (2005)

Julianne Moore is fantastic

[9/10 · 6 March 2006]

Really wasn't a huge Julianne Moore fan before this movie - she's great in some stuff and a little uninspiring in others but this was outstanding. She's asked to carry the movie (the kids are good and Woody does a very good job with a somewhat two dimensional character) and be funny and likable and pulls it all off with élan. It's extremely difficult to be engaging and the moral/narrative center of a film and make it appear this easy - it was definitely under-appreciated and should have gotten her Oscar consideration. The end of the film lacks some of the interest and humor that made the first 3/4 so wonderful but that can happen when you're dealing with a true story - really nice work all around and a great showcase for Moore's talents and presence.