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PLEASE have patience while I update the web site. When you see this menu at the left then you'll know that the page has been updated. |
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H O M E P A G E
JANE'S MOVIE WORLD:
JANE'S MUSIC WORLD:
MUSIC TRIBUTES: JANE'S ART WORLD: |
Established 1999
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Yes, I have bravely picked my favorites of this year. If you click on the title - you will be taken to the page my regular review/recommendation is on. (Note: some movies were up for Oscars this spring, but I didn't see them until 2007, so have included them on my list.)
I found myself torn between the
following two movies.
"Letters from Iwo Jima" is the gut-wrenching filming of
famous battle told for the first time from the side of the Japanese.
It has stuck in my mind since I saw it at the beginning of the year.
"Lars and the Real Girl" is the giggle of the year to me. It still
makes me smile a couple months after seeing it. So I feel both movies
are original and fresh in their viewpoints, but in such different formats,
that I had to recognize both. |
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seen 2/1/07 |
 Lars and the Real Girl: Is a delightful little movie about a very repressed young man touchingly played by Ryan Gosling, who buys a sex doll on line and treats her like a real person to the consternation of his brother and sister-in-low. They are encouraged by the doctor they consult to treat the doll as Lars' girlfriend and the people in the small town eventually come along. Honestly, they take a dumb premise and made it into a bizarre, funny, touching film. I giggled in many places and in others found myself tearing up. One of the best this year I can highly recommend. Seen 10/27/07
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OTHER VERY GOOD MOVIES FROM 2008: |
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Before the Devil Knows You're Gone:
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke
play the desperate sons of a small town jeweler (Albert Finney), who decide
to rob their parents store to get themselves out of their financial mess.
All goes horribly wrong and is an unrelenting tale of the consequences of
tragically wrong choices. From the opening scene, you will know this
is a very adult story without redemption or chance of a happy outcome.
The patchwork timeline is deliberately disconcerting with gut wrenching
scenes. I found it exceptional with across the board solid
performances.
Seen 11/20/07 |
Gone Baby Gone:
Ben Affleck has directed a very gritty movie
about a young detective trying to locate a kidnapped little girl.
There are many unexpected plot twists and turns that take you to a very
unsettling ending. It is well done with many good performances, but
the storyline and language are as rough as the mean streets the movie is
filmed on. I give it a recommend with that proviso.
Seen 11/10/07 |
Hairspray: What a fun, delightful movie with lots of good songs, dance, charm, and a meaningful story of how outcasts can overcome. I enjoyed the John Waters original and this one adds to it with the strong songs and dance. I can't remember a movie I've seen in a long time where I smiled the whole time watching it. Nikki Blonsky is so good in her first role as Tracy with all aspects of the performance and Elijah Kelley is another standout, with the talent of a young Sammy Davis, whom he slightly resembles. All the pros from John Travolta is cute drag to Christopher Walken in a rare musical comedy role to Michelle Pheiffer in a return to musical role are terrific as are the rest of the young cast. I can recommend for most ages. Seen 8/18/07 |
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The Hoax:
Tells the true story of a writing hoax that I remembered so well in the
early 1970's. Clifford Irving (ably played with weaselly charm by
Richard Gere) plots a fake autobiography of Howard Hughes, figuring Hughes'
well known eccentricity would prevent him from being found out. It
escalates into a massive fraud, that eventually ends in the last press
conference of Howard Hughes denying everything by phone and the convictions
of those involved. The ties to Watergate add political relevance and
give the story a bigger tableau than believed in the beginning.
Special kudos to Alfred Molina for his performance as Irving's
partner, who goes from being a comic figure to one of true pathos. I
can remember reading the serialization in Life magazine and thinking what a
good read, so too bad Hughes didn't actually write his own story, would have
been a heck of a story. I give a recommend to this well-done story,
that will have special interest for those who remember those times..
seen 4/29/07
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The Last King of Scotland: Is centered by Forest Whittaker's brilliant performance as Ida Imin. He makes a vicious dictator a complex and at times a very human person. There are humorous scenes, but, make no mistake, there are some really brutal scenes that show what he was capable of. The story-telling device is a Scottish doctor who is enticed to become Imin's personal physician and very slowly comes to realize what a viper's nest he is really in. Strangely, his character is much more unsympathetic than that of Imin's. I give this film a high recommend, but be advised it is a very adult film. seen 1/31/07 |
No Country for Old Men:
For three quarters of the movie, I was held in terrified suspense as a
hunter (Josh Brolin), who came across a drug deal gone bad and a bag full of
cash, becomes the hunted. The cartel sets lose a killer chillingly
played by Javier Bardem who kills anyone in his way. Tommy Lee Jones
plays a world weary sheriff who tries to help the hunter, but becomes a
horrified observer of the carnage. The Coen Brothers have their usual
gallows humor to add to the macabre storyline along with some Texas wisdom
in the Jones' dialog. I found the ending initially a disappointing let
down, but have come to realize that's the only way the tale could end.
Think "The Terminator" meets "A Simple Plan" and you have the story.
It's intense and despite my reservations about the ending, I give it a
strong recommend. The movie really stays with you. Seen 11/24/07 |
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Notes on a Scandal:
Is a rip snorting movie with astounding
performances by Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett as two teachers whose lives
become intertwined. Cate is the bright young teacher who has an affair
with a student and Judi is the older teacher who leaches on to her secret in
order to get into her life. One of those amazingly well written dramas
that the British do so well. In case you haven't guessed - I highly
recommend this film. seen 1/14/07
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Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del
Fauno): Is set in 1944 Spain and
revolves around the frightening world of a girl, who is caught in the middle
of a war between the Fascists and Freedom Fighters. Her mother has
married a brutal Fascist Colonel and the girl escapes into a fantasy world
that mirrors her life. The film has a haunting quality to it, combined
with the starkness of life in war. I found myself totally lost in it
and didn't find the sub-titles much of a problem. I highly recommend,
but must caution - this isn't a children's movie. seen 2/14/07 |
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Sweeney Todd: The gruesome storyline combined with some truly beautiful songs by Sondheim made for stage history. Mix in Tim Burton's stylized sets, costumes, and makeup with the depth of acting by Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter and the rest of the cast, and you have a perfect meld of horror and heart. In the end, I felt like I was watching a modern day opera, with all the tragedy and heart ache, but without the huge stage voices. In fact the songs seem natural in the flow of the film and not forced like many musicals. Yes, it is bloody and certainly not for the casual viewer, but I give it a recommend as something you have never experienced before. Seen 12/25/07
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Waitress: Is a sharply sweet little
movie about a Southern waitress who is a genius at baking pies, but who has
made a mess of her life by a marriage to a controlling creep and an unwanted
pregnancy. Keri Russell has a fully realized performance as the
frustrated young woman who has to control her sharply honest tongue in front
of her husband, but who advises her friends and becomes involved with her
doctor. The other delightful performance is Andy Griffith as a
crotchety old man she befriends. The movie has charm and spark, makes
you laugh and anticipating what will happen next, and leaves you with a
smile at the end - what more can you ask for? The sad part is that
Adrienne Shelly (pictured on the right in the photo), the writer and
director, who also has a supporting role, was murdered before the movie was
released. But, the film remains a lovely tribute to her talents. seen 6/2/07 |
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