Blu-Ray Review: Win Win

You know the old saying, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going"? Well, Mike Flaherty (Paul Giamatti) didn't get that memo. This attorney in New Jersey had a different take. "When the going gets tough, the tough get very shrewd".

Mike's a good guy. He's an attorney in a small-ish Jersey town, who also coaches a little wrestling on the side, and times are tough. Whether it's his equally small-ish law practice or miserably unsuccessful wrestling team, Mike is struggling--especially with his finances. Mike leads a family of four and money is tight. for him, his wife and two daughters. So tight, in fact, that Mike declares himself as the guardian for his client, Leo (Burt Young). Leo is suffering from dimentia and is about to be named a ward of the state. Mike takes on Leo and the $1,500 monthly commission he earns from the state--which is kinda in the gray area of legal scruples. Since Leo's daughter is in drug rehab and she is all that remains of his family, this all sounds like it just might pass. That's when Leo's grandson appears. Kyle (Alex Shaffer) is a 16 year old kid looking to set up shop at grandpa's house.  Kyle is your typical distant, somewhat aloof teenager, who has been through a lot and keeps it all bottled up. Since grandpa is neatly tucked away in a home, Kyle capures the hearts of Mike and his wife (Amy Ryan) and starts staying with them. As it turns out, in addition to being a winner in the Flaherty homestead, Kyle is a winner on the mat. He's a champion wrestler. That's win Kyle's mom shows up and stirs the nest. Yadayadayada Mike battles Kyles mom for the pot-o-gold that is Leo while keeping a nurturing eye on Kyle as well...it's a Win Win for everyone, right?

Well, maybe not everyone in the cast...but it's a definite winner for the audience. I'll go with 4.0 Stars. This is a thought-provoking flick that has a great message about making mistakes and making things right. Further, it's about allowing love and relationship to overcome those mistakes in the process of letting forgiveness win over bitterness and revenge. Bottom line: Win Win is a good movie.

I love this story, this cast and how it unfolds through their acting. Paul Giamatti is a seasoned vet. He's a character actor that will provide a Win to the right role. Whether it's on the serious side like this film, The Illusionist or John Adams; or the zany side like Big Fat Liar or Fred Claus, Paul is usually a winner. Then, there's newcomer Alex Shaffer. Since this is his only credit, he's hard to gauge. I'm not sure if this was just the right role for a naturally quiet, aloof personality or if this guy's the real deal, but I loved him in this role. Since he might have walked into this role situationally (he was a former high school wrestler whose back injury ended his days as a competitor), I'm not ready to put him into the ranks of Ezra Miller or Chase Ellison--young actors that I've seen great things from while in their teens. Meanwhile, Amy Ryan is also solid as the wife and her character really grew on me. Finally, Jeffrey Tambor and Burt Young provide solid anchors to the cast in smaller roles.

You want a good, well-told story that is well acted and stays with you long after the credits...Win Win is a champ. Add it to your queue and enjoy!

True...OUT!

Big Screen Blurb: The Debt

I was told once, that you're not old until your life's regrets outnumber your life's ambitions. If that is, indeed true, the characters of The Debt were very old at a very young age.

In The Debt, director John Madden weaves a story of revenge, involving a cast of four characters over two time periods. The year is 1966. Rachel, Steven and David (Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas and Sam Worthington) are Mossad secret agents with one target: Nazi war criminal Dieter Vogel, better known as the Surgeon of Birkenau. The evil doctor has found refuge in East Berlin. The trio's task is a daunting one. They are to identify Vogel. Capture him. And finally, they are to smuggle him out of East Berlin to stand trial for his war crimes. The mission appears to be a great success as the trio is celebrated as national heroes. However, decades later in 1997, things appear to unravel as the trio (Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson and Claran Hinds)  regroups...kinda. Yadayadayada the spy thriller culminates as ultimate revenge meets the pinnacle of regret.

It's good. I'll go with 3.5 Stars. I was told going into this flick, that it was a lot like Munich. It certainly had that foreign, revenge piece, feel of Munich. I liked that flick a lot, but enjoyed The Debt much more. I loved the different levels on which this movie plays out. You're jumping time frames consistently--at least early in the film, but you never find yourself lost. Plus, the characters are intriquing and strong.

The characters and their theme of regret is as compelling as their tale. The love triangle showcases just one aspect of this. It frames the story and is equally compelling. You've got Rachel, shunned by her true love, settling on someone she grows to resent greatly. The regret really just begins there and is weaved throughout the story.

The acting certainly enhances a great story and provides the ultimate cherry on top of the sundae. I love Helen Mirren in just about anything. Tom Wilkinson I have loved since his role in The Patriot and Sam Worthington keeps his recent track record unblemished as the distant and detached David. All in all--good story...well told through great actors.

If you're a stickler for a good, well-told story, with an espionage slant, see The Debt and see it BIG.

True...OUT!

Big Screen Blurb: I Don't Know How She Does It

When it comes to marriage, we guys really have it easy, don't we? Guys essentially get to shelve most all household responsibility as soon as the ole ring goes on the finger and the kids pop out. Get the kids up...wife's job. Get the kids dressed...wife's job. Fix the kid's breakfast...wife's job. Prepare the...well, you get the picture. It's a tough juggling act and quite frankly, I Don't Know How She Does It.

We get a few tips from Kate (Sarah Jessica Parker). After all, she does it all. Kate's a wife and mother of two. She has two kids, both under six years old. And finally, Kate is high level exec for an investment company. Plus, her career is booming...as is her husband, Richard (Greg Kinnear)...as are her kids. This leaves little else for Kate to do, but juggle, juggle and juggle some more. Things get a little more crazy when Jack Abbelhammer (Pierce Brosnan) enters the picture. He gives Kate a big career break that allows her to score big at her firm. Yadayadayada the two get closer as Kate manages many balls in the air, while trying to find time to smell the roses while managing her priorities.

It's good. I'll go with 3.0 Stars--well on the sunny side of okay. No big adulterous drama that you might expect to find. Just a real story told in a fun fashion. It's told in a The Office format, with interviews from Kate's various friends and foes. This storytelling device mixes things up a bit and gives a personal insight from fringe characters (that are otherwise non-factors) which adds to the tale. There are no earth-shattering points of drama, just real life. It's a simple story told in the midst of chaos and bears a point that will ring true for many. The message is simple: many women are forced to juggle many things that are important to them--chiefly the roles of wife, mother and employee. Sometimes you've got to pick 'job' over 'family'...sometimes it's 'family' over 'job'. The trick is knowing when to pull which string.

It's an art that Kate manages quite nicely actually, leaving all scratching their heads saying, I Don't Know How She Does It? It's worth a watch, unless you're one of the majority of guys that take full advantage of their better halves by piling their plates full. Of course, the ladies that would truly appreciate it (and may really learn a few tips from Kate) will never have time to check it out. It's those ladies who deserve to see it, and see it BIG.

True...OUT!

Big Screen Blurb: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The first time I saw Jaws 2 was during Joe Stickels' birthday party. I was in the sixth grade and a wee lad of eleven. Jaws 2 was the Late, Late Movie that played while we were busy shooting Joe's homemade rubber band guns, playing cards and making a general nuisance of ourselves during a festive all-nighter. What stood out about that movie, which played background to our fun, was that Joe was very actively rooting for the shark.

Yeah--I thought that was odd, too. Especially considering that the shark in the flick was assigned a rather villianous personality...quite unjustly, I might add in retrospect. Joe's point was simple: In reality, sharks seem innately programmed to swim, eat and crap. They don't know who or what they are eating. They just know that hunger pangs strike and food is in front of them. No vengence. No mal-intent. Finding out that this is malicious would be like me finding out that the Cheetos that I've been chomping on for years has made me instant kin to Darth Vader. Yikes! The very thought makes me cringe with guilt over the poor lil orange puffs.

At any rate, I say all of that to say this: I pulled a Joe Stickels Friday night and was very actively rooting for the apes in each of the 112 minutes in the Rise of the Planet of the Apes. However, the difference between the two movies is simple: in Rise you're supposed to root for Ceaser, et al.; not so much for the shark--sorry Joe, but your point was well-taken nevertheless.

Ceaser (Andy Serkis) is the product of evolutionary genetic manipulation. Thanks, that is, to one Dr. Will Rodman (James Franco). He's hard at work for GenSys, a company in search of its next billion dollar drug. Will, however, has an alterior motive: his dad (John Lithgow). Dr. Will is less concerned about dollar signs and more concerned about finding a cure for Alzheimer's, which he does...kinda. The testing helped Ceasar's cognitive function and even saw the cute little guy move in with Dr. Will and dad. There we watch as dad heals and Ceaser becomes part of the family. Through a series of unfortunate events, the latter is forced out of Will's home and confined to the equivalent of an asylum for apes. From there, we watch as humans cruelly opress the apes, including Ceaser. That is, until he puts his smarts to use and turns the tables. Yadayadayada Ceaser rallies his species to an uprising of unheralded proportions and the first of what promises to be at least a trilogy is officially launched.

It's good. I'll go with 3.0 Stars. Honestly, at times, this was tough for me to watch. I'm an animal guy. Rip off a human's head in a flick, I'm like, "Ooookay...whatever." Hurt an animal in a movie, I'm like, "It's ON BITCH!" With that said, it wasn't tough to root for the apes. After all, we were supposed to, right? We get to know and love Ceaser from his birth in the clinic...to his discovery of life in such a humanastic way that we should all be that in-tune to the world around us...and finally, to his leadership role of his species. Bottom line: we love Ceaser and come to despise the greed-driven folks of GenSys. They're not all bad, mind you. Dr. Will is great and well played by Franco. His cast mates glow as well. Litgow is great and Serkis, although limited in his dialogue, is great as Ceaser. Further, the story is well told by director Rupert Wyatt; and, it's one that makes you think. It's a classic and a conversation starter for certain.

It's worth a watch. Maybe a rental. Maybe a Big screen view. It really depends on your interest in the subject matter. I put off checking this one out for awhile, but I'm glad I saw it. It helped me realize that I'm always going to stand up for, and root for, the opressed. That holds true whether it's a shark from years ago (...yeah, you convinced me Joe) or Ceaser, and the primates, from last weekend.

True...OUT!