Merrie Whitmore
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
2009 (Shawn Levy) PG, 104 min
Starring: Amy Adams, Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Owen Wilson
After the success of Night at the Museum, a sequel was inevitible. Fortunately the things that worked in the original are working even better in Battle of the Smithsonian. Ben Stiller is back as Larry Daley, who no longer works at the museum, but can’t resist revisiting and re-animating his old pals before they get shipped to the Smithsonian for storage. Cowboy Owen Wilson and Centurion Steve Coogan return in fine form to join newcomer Hank Azaria. Azaria plays an angry Egyptian ruler who adds a bit of mincing menace to the plot, and starts the battle with the help of Al Capone and other bad men from history. The good team is bolstered by Amy Adams as aviatrix adventurer Amelia Earhart. And the outcome is a family friendly chance to watch funny characters run amok in a museum.
-Merrie WhitmoreWatch the Trailer
Tulpan
2008 (Sergei Dvortsevoy) PG, 100 min
Starring: Ondas Besikbasov, Samal Esljamova, Tolepbergen Baisakalov
In Kazakh and Russian with English subtitles
The film takes place in a remote part of Kazakhstan; there are allegedly less-remote parts. In fact young people regularly flock to the urban centres, rendering the remote parts even more remote. This is a story of those who struggle to remain despite the desolation and the hardship, raising sheep on the Hunger Steppe. It sounds dismal, but there's romance. Asa (Askhat Kuchinchirekov), a former sailor in the Russian navy, returns to the family yurt to settle down and find a wife. His choice is limited to the elusive Tulpan, or "Tulip," the only marriageable girl on the steppe, who is choosier than her circumstances would normally allow. But what's a good film without some obstacles, and this is a great film- sad, warm and funny despite the desolation and the dirt. If you only see one Kazakh film this year, it should be Tulpan.
-Merrie WhitmoreWatch the Trailer
Gomorra
2008 (Matteo Garrone) 14A, 137 min
Starring: Carlo Del Sorbo, Gianfelice Imparato, Salvatore Abruzzese, Simone Sacchettino
In Italian with English subtitles
Gomorrah reveals the hollowness of earlier gangster films, as two pimply aspiring criminals reenact, with live ammunition, the climactic scenes from Brian DePalma's Scarface. The message is clear: we've been accustomed to mafia films which glorify the culture: the code, the rewards, the ritualized violence. Unlike earlier Hollywood films, the Italian-made Gomorrah reveals the truth about organized crime, specifically the Camorra, the oldest criminal organization in Italy, and defacto rulers of Naples. It's shot in verite style with many non-professional actors, and there's no single tidy story. Instead there are five different strands that never weave together but combine to show the degree to which the Camorra is a part of the fabric of society, controlling diverse industries like fashion and waste disposal. Like any legitimate business, the Camorra recruit new members, pension old members, and maintain strict control of their brand—crushing counterfeit wannabes--with the callous efficiency of any global corporation. More truthful and much scarier than earlier films in the gangster genre, this may change your relationship with the Godfather.
-Merrie WhitmoreWatch the Trailer
Observe and Report
2009 (Jody Hill) 18A, 86 min
Starring: Anna Faris, Michael Peña, Ray Liotta, Seth Rogen
“Twisted,” “unconventional,” and “subversive” are the positive things critics have said about this unapologetically offensive “dark comedy.” Observe and Report stars the normally cuddly Seth Rogen as Ronnie Barnhardt, an impotent and menacing mall security guard. Armed with a taser and skull-denting flashlight, Ronnie prowls the promenades and parking lots in a steady round of misunderstandings and hassles. Then one day a flasher starts terrorizing the mall with his flabbily flaccid bits and pieces, bringing Ronnie into contact with a real police officer, played by a stone-faced Ray Liotta, and the terrifically slutty, shot-slurping cosmetics counter attendant Brandi, played very broadly by Anna Farris. Rolling Stones Peter Travers loves this film and raves, “Imagine Scorsese directing Police Academy.”
-Merrie WhitmoreWatch the Trailer
