Enchanted

Enchanted

Starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Idina Menzel & Susan Surandon

This is what Disney is all about: an over the top, fun, well-conceived fairy tale, inching its way into the satire genre. "Enchanted" brings together the worlds of fantasy and reality, digging back to it's old school roots of artistry (similar to the 2-D animation of "The Little Mermaid," "Tarzan," and "Mulan"), creating a great, entertaining family blockbuster.

Beginning with the 2-D animated world, Giselle (Amy Adams), a singing/frolicking/caller of wild animals kind of maiden, wishes to receive "a true love's kiss," particularly from some far-away galloping prince, and of course, he has to be charming. With a troll catastrophe, Prince Edward (voiced by and later played by James Marsden) rescuing Giselle on his steed, and a tomorrow-true-love wedding, Giselle is leading the life she wants. However, when the royally evil Queen Narissa (Susan Surandon) plans to rid the kingdom of the soon-to-be royal Giselle, the young maiden's future life is in jeopardy.

Thrown into a well of mystery, the real life Giselle is engulfed by a world of gigantic buildings, loud vehicles emitting pollution, small people who aren't related to Dopey or Grumpy, and a billboard castle that won't let anyone in. Giselle, in all her trusting and optimistic ways, is in our world. New York City to be exact. Luckily, however, the incredibly pessimistic Robert (Patrick Murphy), a well-to-do lawyer, and his motherless daughter find Giselle. With a good heart and his daughter's yearning for princesses - even if Giselle is assumed to be some nutcase - the family of two take the lost girl in.

In front of a few overly cliche scenes and a horribly digitalized dragon, "Enchanted" attaches itself on the children and the adults alike, especially the immensely intricate acting of Amy Adams. Her Giselle is naive, adorable, lovable, and somewhat neurotic. She also creates princess-like dresses out of any fabric at hand in a single morning. Giselle forms immediate personal bonds with any living being she encounters, striking up a musical number in Central Park, a group of city rats, roaches, and pigeons to do her cleaning up, and a separating couple to be once again happily in love.

I can see this role being passed on by many actresses. Adams picked it up, and now, from a few Oscar Predictions websites, she's being pulled into the top five to be nominated for Best Actress. This is because Adams brings such an enchanting feeling to the role, inviting us in, and taking up her journey from callow maiden to a modern day woman. Adams' Giselle is one of the best performances of the year.

Yet, she's not the only cast member that gets a good word. Her fantasy world fiance, Prince Edward, has just as much heart and primitiveness as she does. Marsden allows his character to never be consumed by the city insanity. He believes that a bus is a dragon, the people are peasants, and this is just another world to conquer. His drive is to one, and one only: to find Giselle. Though he does discover some truths about the world he entered, he never does sway from his own kingdom.

With all the great roles and actors to play them, a great plot, and numerous satirical odes to past fairy tales, "Enchanted" was the most enjoyable movie of the season, and Adams shines so bright - maybe all the way to a shining Oscar.

Grade: B+

The Mist

The Mist
Starring Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Alexa Davalos & Toby Jones

"The Mist," a collaborative film based on a Stephen King short story, follows the story of one small town supermarket-goers who find themselves trapped behind cartons of milk, cash registers, and buy-one-get-one-free sales when a mysterious mist comes their way. It's not just any old fog; this is something supernatural - a killer. But what does this mist hold? As the always entertaining Marcia Gay Harden, who single-handedly holds this movie up, says, "It's death."

Of course, when a story holds a dangerous secret, like what is inside the mist - oh, don't say "fog"; the actors never do - an audience creates its own assumptions about what is killing the people of this small town Maine (of course, a King detail). Aliens? Demons? Vampires? Ghosts? Who knows! I would have loved to see nothing in the mist - not that nothing was killing the people but that there was no CGI. This could have been a great ode to old time thrillers if we didn't see the strange looking 3-D monsters. They weren't even scary. It was kind of like "Jurassic Park" meets "Jumanji."

Led by Thomas Jane, half the cast flops, while the other half pull their weight and then some. Harden is phenomenal as the Old Testament-preaching, psychopathic Mrs. Carmody who rallies against Jane's people and tries to stop everyone from leaving the supermarket. She also goes on a mission of God to find a sacrifice. This leads to bloodshed. "Infamous'" Toby Jones is very likable as is "Feast of Love's" Alexa Davalos. Other than those three, no one really shines, and Jane doesn't have a good scene until the end.

The most fascinating parts of "The Mist" were it's character struggles and debacles. Harden plays such a powerfully horrible woman that the audience cheered when she got her share of karma. Also, the last five minutes are incredibly powerful and irrevocable, allowing "The Mist" to not be lost from our memories.

Harden is a star. Jane is lackluster. And the film is fun to watch.

Grade: C+

Movies of the Fall

1. 3:10 to Yuma

Though westerns aren't usually my forte, this gang-chasing manhunt is full of explosive, tense action, great actors (Russell Crowe, Christian Bale & Ben Foster), and experienced filming. It was simply an enjoyable film.

Grade: B


2. Eastern Promises

David Cronenberg, as he did in "A History of Violence," directs a blood-thirsty thriller with intricate, personal characters. Naomi Watts is our protagonist, but the light really shines on Viggo Mortensen's Oscar-worthy performance as Nikolai, the tattooed Russian car driver working his way up the mob

Grade: B+

3. The Brave One

I loved this movie in the beginning where we meet a happy Jodie Foster with her boyfriend who is beaten to death in a New York City park; I loved watching Foster's character survive the attack and begin to seek out revenge of not only her boyfriend but also any other criminals who cross her pissed-off-path; but the movie fell very short with Terrence Howard's role as the suspicious cop and his decisions at the end of this film.

Grade: B-


4. In the Valley of Elah

Every memorable, breath-taking movie needs great cinematography. This movie has it. It also contains a career-boosting role for Tommy Lee Jones as Hank, a father slash career officer seeking answers to his military son's disappearance, and Susan Surandon as the tormented and house-stationed mother. Paul Haggis touches this movie through and through with his directorial and writerly expertise, but the movie runs a bit too long without enough wind.

Grade: A-


5. Feast of Love

Mixing sex, lust, love, comedy and tragedy, this Shakespearean story has heart and wit without being too lovey-dovey. It is raw in it's vision of love and mostly real. However, no performances stick out from the crowd - everyone is good but no one is great - and there's just something about how many women Greg Kinnear's character naively falls for that is bothersome for his timid character.

Grade: B


6. Michael Clayton

With Oscar-thriving roles played by George Clooney, Tilda Swinton & Tom Wilkinson, this semi-psychological, law thriller is beautifully made, craftily conceived, and sparks much excitement, but the plot seemed to wrap itself and became predictably automatic. It was bittersweet, shocking yet habitual.

Grade: B

7. Into the Wild

Finally, a movie that inspires. Very few films hold this in their hearts. Too many strive for it, but don't quite hit home. Sean Penn's directorial debut was a driven, intellectual, funny, tragic story about a young man who wanted to be like his peers: Thoreau, Pasternak, and Kerouac to name a few. It's a fresh, crisp piece of cinematic art and is by far 2007's best movie so far.

Grade: A+

8. Across the Universe

Though "Across the Universe" has the best trailer ever, I wish I would've stuck to watching it over and over again. Julie Taymor's over-the-top Beatlesmania musical on dope jumps far over the bar of the unusual, the mixed-up and the contorted. With unnecessary characters, one of the weakest plots, and a love that is sure to last a lifetime (or at least until the 60s are over), Taymor fails to deliver, but her touch is just too original to hate. She gets props for trying, and trying with flair.

Grade: C

9. Saw IV

Basically, in short, it was a horrible idea to go past three "Saw's." I loved the third installment, but this one was fun to watch, but overlapped itself and all of the other films, making it hard for Einstein to wrap his mind around - even before his head got smashed to bits by two giant blocks of ice!

Grade: D+

10. Hotel Chevalier/The Darjeeling Limited

There's something about Wes Anderson. His style is so low key. "The Darjeeling Limited" follows three brothers (Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Schwartzman) in search of finding themselves on a trip through India. The film was pleasantly funny, sad, and original. It wasn't the best of the best, but there isn't much to criticize. A great time in the theater - plus Natalie Portman's in both the short film & the feature!

Grade: A

11. Beowulf

Though some of the sequences and dialogue are so awkward (especially every line Robin Wright Penn and John Malkovich delivers), director Robert Zemeckis presents an action-filled adventure that's both visually stunning and has a level of sensuality - probably brought by the serpentine Angelina Jolie as Grendel's hot mommy. I would have loved to see it in an IMAX, though.

Grade: B

12. Lions for Lambs

Here's a film that has the idea, has the dialogue, and the themes needed for a cinematic political debate, but doesn't have enough action. Of course it's lined with great actors (Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, & Tom Cruise - I guess he's "great"), but "Lions for Lambs" feels more like a play than a movie. The scenes between Cruise & Streep/Redford & Andrew Garfield are great and meaningful and fun to listen to, but can be done with our eyes closed with the same effect. Nothing visual happens. Now, Redford (also director) does back this stage-like sequences with war scenes, which are perfectly placed, but the other half of the film falls short of being cinematic. Sorry, Robbie. Try again next time.

Grade: C+