Poignant 'Brick Lane' tackles cross-cultural conflict

by Andrew Jefchak | The Grand Rapids Press

Friday October 10, 2008, 4:49 PM

AP Photo"Brick Lane": Tannishtha Chatterje, right, portrays Nazneen, and Christopher Simpson plays Karim in the film.

The transformation of excellent literature from other parts of the world into impressive cinema continues with "Brick Lane."

Though not as compelling as Marc Forster's "The Kite Runner" or Mira Nair's "The Namesake," Sarah Gavron's condensation of Monica Ali's novel carefully respects the original in theme and spirit.

Like its predecessors, "Brick Lane" focuses on people who transport their lives from one culture to another, though always retaining memories of the beauty and the sadness of that other way.

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'Quarantine' may be the best place for this film

by John Serba | The Grand Rapids Press

Friday October 10, 2008, 4:44 PM

AP PhotoHorrors: Jennifer Carpenter spends most of her screen time shrieking and hyperventilating in "Quarantine."

At first, it sounds like they're snoring. Then, it resembles growling. Then comes the foaming, the blood-puking and the biting.

I'm not certain if the afflicted in "Quarantine" are zombies by definition, but they share many of the same traits, as listed above. The undeadish folk are isolated in an old Los Angeles apartment building, and with them, a number of uninfected innocents, one of whom, conveniently, is a veterinarian. He diagnoses the spreading plague as a particularly nasty strain of rabies, a conclusion more astute audience members already have come to, what with all the growling, foaming and biting among not just crazed humans but crazed dogs and rats as well.

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Talented Keira Knightley dazzles in 'The Duchess'

by John Serba | The Grand Rapids Press

Friday October 10, 2008, 6:08 AM

AP PhotoRoyal trouble: Keira Knightley, as Georgiana, and Ralph Fiennes, as the Duke of Devonshire, are in a tumultuous marriage in "The Duchess."

High society, high dysfunction, even higher hair.

The wig on Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, begs for such hyperbole, topped as it is by what appear to be ostrich feathers. It's a tower of tresses, an easy metaphor for the British upper crust -- these people don't live in places with low-clearance doorways or ceilings. Georgiana's lifestyle is, as the Brits say, posh. Posh as all git out.

She is the Empress of Fashion and a visible proponent of the Whig political party, pun perhaps intended. But behind the invisible, indestructible walls of 18th-century British mores, Georgiana is miserable. Her marriage to the Duke of Devonshire provides her with celebrity and political sway, but not freedom. One of her beloved Whig representatives discusses "freedom in moderation" at an extravagant dinner, and she smiles, curiously, because it dawns on her that, as a woman, it applies to her directly.

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'Body of Lies' weaves web of intrigue, violence

by John Serba | The Grand Rapids Press

Friday October 10, 2008, 6:03 AM

AP PhotoIntense: Russell Crowe, left, and Leonardo DiCaprio in a scene from "Body of Lies."

Roger Ferris lies on a hospital bed, getting bone fragments plucked out of his flesh.

"Don't worry, they're not yours," the doctor says.

It's all in a day's work for Ferris -- he's a CIA agent tracking terrorists in the Middle East. He speaks Arabic, has shrewd combat instincts and knows his way around firearms. Back home, his wife is divorcing him and taking the house; call it collateral damage.

Back in Langley, Va., Ed Hoffman monitors Ferris' actions in a CIA surveillance room, when he's not schlepping his kids to school and soccer practice. Permanently wired to his cell phone, he discusses strategy with Ferris while helping potty-train his son. Hoffman's wife asks what he's doing, and he replies, "I'm saving civilization, honey."

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'City of Ember' offers bleak view of Earth

by John Serba | The Grand Rapids Press

Friday October 10, 2008, 6:00 AM

AP PhotoUnderground dwellers: Harry Treadaway and Saoirse Ronan star in "City of Ember."

What lies beyond Ember?

"The darkness goes on forever," is the conventional wisdom, but really, nobody knows for sure. Or do they? Ember's citizens are confined -- some would say imprisoned -- within the walls of the underground city, which apparently contains the last vestiges of human civilization. Welcome to Earth, post-apocalypse, and it is depressing and bleak.

Illumination in the city comes from hundreds of light bulbs hanging above it like stars, but the generator at the heart of Ember is failing. Blackouts are more frequent. Food is becoming scarce. With doom and uncertainty lurking, the city's pasty population is experiencing anxiety, but after more than 200 years, these people are duty-bound dullards, as if their dreams are long-lost in the dark.

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Thompson's 'Gonzo' life was one heck of a ride

by Andrew Jefchak | The Grand Rapids Press

Friday October 10, 2008, 6:00 AM

AP PhotoCrazy-casual style: In this undated photo, Gonzo reporter Hunter S. Thompson works the phone.

About a third of the way into Alex Gibney's excellent documentary "Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson," we are shown black-and-white footage from the old TV panel show "To Tell the Truth." At the end of a round of panel questions, the moderator asks, "Will the real Hunter S. Thompson please stand up?"

About age 30 at the time, Thompson does rise, not widely recognizable yet, despite some notoriety for his book-length study of life among the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang. Gibney's film in many ways seeks to answer the TV-show question at length, or in depth.

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Civil rights movement, football prominent in 'The Express'

by Andrew Jefchak | The Grand Rapids Press

Friday October 10, 2008, 6:00 AM

AP PhotoOn the sidelines: Dennis Quaid, left, who portrays coach Ben Schwartzwalder, speaks with legendary player Jim Brown, played by Darrin Dewitt Henson, in a drama based on the true story of running back Ernie Davis, who smashed barriers on and off the field in "The Express."

For every film that qualifies as serious sports biography, another is made that tends to rhapsodize a real person. "The Express" fits somewhere in between, an admirable feature about a special man, but one that nonetheless surrenders regularly to cliches and formulae.

It's still worth seeing, however, an emotional compilation of incidents in the life of Ernie Davis, the first black to win the coveted Heisman Trophy, awarded annually to the best college football player. Davis' prominence in the early 1960s coincided with the growing civil rights movement. As directed by Gary Fleder, this film shows how Davis' personal struggle reflected the bigger national picture.

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"City of Ember" offers action, suspense and food for thought

by James Sanford | Kalamazoo Gazette

Thursday October 09, 2008, 11:59 PM

Lina (Saoirse Ronan) looks for directions out of the CITY OF EMBER.

CITY OF EMBER begins with the end of the world. As civilization is wiped off the face of the Earth, mankind goes underground -- literally -- to a subterranean town known as Ember, which is set up to last for two centuries.

But more than 200 years later, property values are, shall we say, in decline. Martin Laing's spectacular sets reveal a rusty, corroded world in which the plumbing leaks constantly, lighting is murky at best and everything seems to be hastily patched together. Ember resembles a cross between World War II London and the rapidly decaying metropolis in director Terry Gilliam's BRAZIL -- and it's a beautiful mess.

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Even Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe can't reinforce "Body of Lies"

by James Sanford | Kalamazoo Gazette

Thursday October 09, 2008, 11:59 PM

Russell Crowe gives Leonardo DiCaprio an earful of advice in BODY OF LIES.

"Ain't nobody likes the Middle East, buddy -- ain't nothin' here to like," CIA veteran Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) tells agent Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) in BODY OF LIES. Certainly, director Ridley Scott's film doesn't make Jordan, Iraq or Syria look like a must-see vacation destination. LIES hopscotches from country to country, yet the scenery remains consistently grim and populated with gun-toting men, dangerous-looking streets, visibly nervous people on the sidelines and, all too often, explosions and chaos.

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In "The Duchess," Keira Knightley becomes queen of the costume picture

by James Sanford | Kalamazoo Gazette

Thursday October 09, 2008, 11:59 PM

Keira Knightley plays a noblewoman who gets burned by love in THE DUCHESS, based on the life of Georgiana Spencer.

Marry in haste, repent in luxury: That's the lesson learned by the lovely Georgiana Spencer (Keira Knightley) in THE DUCHESS, an elegantly enjoyable romance set in 18th-century England.

After PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and her trio of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN epics, Knightley is well on her way to supplanting Helena Bonham Carter as the queen of costume pictures. It's a spot she can confidently claim as her own. Knightley's delicacy and natural grace make her spectacularly well-suited to playing sad-eyed aristocrats who must maneuver carefully through drawing rooms full of perfectly dressed, soft-spoken sharks.

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'Religulous' tackles trinity, extreme faith -- for laughs

by John Serba | The Grand Rapids Press

Friday October 03, 2008, 6:26 PM

AP PhotoProbing: Bill Maher asks questions about faith in "Religulous."

In "Religulous," Bill Maher argues against the arrogance of certainty with what he calls the humility of doubt.

"I'm just asking questions," he tells a group of men gathered at a truckers' chapel in Raleigh. He probes them about their beliefs as Christians, poking holes in biblical stories and philosophies.

"Why is believing something without evidence good?" he asks.

Later, Maher visits a Bible-story theme park in Orlando. He interviews the actor playing Jesus, and they argue about the plausibility of the Holy Trinity and other topics well-tread in debates between believers and non-believers.

"What if you're wrong?" the Jesus doppelganger asks. "What if you're wrong?" Maher replies.

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'An American Carol' appeals to our inner idiot

by Andrew Jefchak | The Grand Rapids Press

Friday October 03, 2008, 6:07 PM

AP Photo"An American Carol": There's hardly a legitimate laugh in the film, which stars Trace Atkins, left, and Kevin Farley.

Creative satire entertains because its comedy is shaped through intelligence, wit and a universally understood edginess. Purely topical satire, on the other hand, banks on buzz words, political in-jokes and various forms of fashion, served in quick scenes layered over with slapstick.

Satire becomes classic ("Dr. Strangelove" and "Thank You for Smoking") when it reaches out with stylish originality to our wisest comic instincts. Satire becomes an embarrassment when, as in "An American Carol," it appeals only to our inner idiot.

Writer-director David Zucker has been foisting off this kind of adolescent nonsense for decades, from "The Naked Gun 2 1/2" to "Scary Movie 4." He piles gag upon gag in rat-a-tat fashion, perhaps to hide the low comic value of any individual moment or, perhaps, because he knows few people above the age of 14 will laugh at them anyway, so there's no need to leave gaps.

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Greg Kinnear gives smart performance in 'Flash of Genius'

by John Serba | The Grand Rapids Press

Friday October 03, 2008, 6:00 AM

AP PhotoIn court: Greg Kinnear, right, and Jake Abel are shown in a scene in "Flash of Genius."

Bob Kearns is in his basement, inventing.

He's trying to perfect his Mona Lisa, something he calls the Blinking Eye Windshield Wiper, what we know as the intermittent wiper. Bob is a smart guy, and his tinkering is a chance to spend quality time with his two sons, and teach them something.

"Less is more," he tells them. "Simplicity is beauty."

Director Marc Abraham utilizes a similar philosophy for "Flash of Genius"; his uncluttered approach to an underdog movie makes it appealing. Also credit Greg Kinnear, who gives Bob subtle hues of optimism and madness. The character experiences the all-too-human, all-too-sympathetic roller coaster of happiness and despair, but Kinnear never pushes him beyond plausibility. It's a performance that we don't really notice, and that's a good thing.

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'How to Lose Friends' shows a surefire way: lack a sense of humor

by Clare Pfeiffer Ramsey | The Grand Rapids Press

Friday October 03, 2008, 6:00 AM

AP PhotoOver dinner: Simon Pegg and Megan Fox are shown in a scene from "How to Lose Friends & Alienate People."

"How to Lose Friends & Alienate People" wins no one over.

What could have been a snarky, satirical send-up of entertainment media turns out to be a bland, disjointed, poor excuse for a comedy.

To put it mildly, it's a mess -- a misguided romantic comedy with no magic, a satire with no bite, a Hollywood "true" story with no grit or glamour.

A movie based on Vanity Fair writer Toby Young's memoir of the same name would suggest something more to offer its audience.

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'On the Rumba River' tells story of music legend

by Andrew Jefchak | The Grand Rapids Press

Friday October 03, 2008, 6:00 AM

AP PhotoIn the Congo: Mbinga Kabata plays Tejos in "On the Rumba River."

"On the Rumba River" opens near the central African rivertown of Kinshasa. A long shot shows an approaching train, which proceeds to rumble noisily past the camera. People hang out its windows and doorways waving in the rush of tropical air, and young men stand silhouetted atop its passenger cars.

The brief scene seems disconnected to what follows until we understand it as a metaphor for the human spirit, so capable of joy even under political oppression.

The joy, as expressed in this fine documentary film by Jacques Sarasin, derives from the music of a legendary figure who calls himself Wendo. Sarasin doesn't dwell upon the specific cruelties of life in what is now ironically called the Democratic Republic of Congo, but he sometimes backgrounds Wendo's music with the scrap and waste that result from civil war or murals depicting tribal bloodshed.

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