Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Steve Carell is on a hot streak. I just hope he doesn't get too big for network television.
( Is there a better character on network t.v. today than Michael Scott? ) Put that excellent role from NBC's "The Office" together with "The 40 Year Old Virgin," and now "Little Miss Sunshine," and you wonder where Carell can go from here... well hopefully a good 5 or 6 more seasons of "The Office."

Unlike "The 40 Year Old Virgin," however, Carell is not the main character in "Little Miss Sunshine," but instead shares the billing with a wonderful ensemble cast of actors who are his comedic equals in this delightful film. The story centers around a tried and true comedy format, the family road trip. In "Little Miss Sunshine," the family is driving from Albuquerque to California so their eight year old daughter, Olive, can compete in the "Little Miss Sunshine Beauty Pageant." And what a family it is! Along on this journey to get Olive to the pageant is the father, Richard, an inspirational speaker seeking a book deal on his '9 steps to success,' the vulgar, sex-crazed, heroin-snorting Grandpa, the teenage brother who, inspired by writings of philosopher Nietzsche, has taken a vow of silence and hasn't spoken in months, the suicidal Proust-scholar, Uncle Frank, and the rock of the family, Olive's mother Sheryl, who is attempting to hold them all together. In lesser hands on all fronts, from the screenwriters to the directors and actors, this plot setup could have easily slid into cliched physical gags and sophomoric lampooning of these eccentric characters. The script does not fall into that trap, however, and the actors are allowed to infuse their characters with a realism so that even though each has their own strong eccentricities, they are not defined by that, but are rather fully developed and realized human beings. I've heard that acting in comedies is much harder than in dramas, however, I believe the hardest type of acting would probably be what is on display in this movie: acting in a comedy, making it funny, yet always maintaining the comedy with a perfect balance of realism. Greg Kinnear, as Richard, Alan Arkin as Grandpa, Steve Carell as Uncle Frank, Toni Collete as Sheryl, and even the children, Paul Dano as Dwayne, and the wonderful Abigail Breslin as Olive, all create fully developed, odd-ball characters who we as viewers believe in and care about... and are who are absolutely hilarious. A combination that is not found too often in movies.

The movie is itself one of the funnier views I've had in a long time. The movie has, for the most part an indie, non-Hollywood feel to it, and the humor clearly works with that style, it being often more subtle and observational, though there are also plenty of physical gags, they push the boundaries but are never taken overboard. Many parts become even more funny after its over and you've had time to reflect on it and talk about it with those who have also seen it. Much of the humor is based in reality, these are real people, and this is a real family. You feel that connection with them and can relate to their life. Take for instance the opening dinner scene, when Sheryl is preparing for a family dinner that consists a bucket of chicken, and a bowl of cole-slaw, that she brought home from the local fried chicken place. She is quickly running around the kitchen repeatedly calling her family in for dinner as she prepares the table with paper plates and mixmatch cups and glasses, including a "McBurglar" glass. Simple, touching, real, and very funny. Some comedies stick straight to the punchline, but the reason "Little Miss Sunshine" works so well is because it does a fine job of balancing other emotions perfectly along with the humor. There are a number of scenes that would make you cry from sadness if you were not laughing so hard from humor. The other emotions always feel as real as the comedy, and never feel tacked on and fake as is often the case many other comedies.

I know I'm gushing about this movie, but frankly I loved it and I think you will too. Maybe I'm basking in the afterglow of this wonderful little movie and in time I will think that I've gone overboard with my praise, but for now I stand by my review. It is a great movie. Go see it.

5 out of 5 stars.

Olive: Grandpa, do you think I'm pretty?
Grandpa: Olive, you are the most beautiful girl in the whole world!
Olive: Nah you're just saying that...
Grandpa: No! I'm not kidding. I'm madly in love with you, and it's not because of your brains or your personality.

Inside Man (2006)

I don't know how many Spike Lee movies I've seen, but based off of the two I know I have, not enough. Previous to "The Inside Man," the last Lee movie I viewed was "25th Hour," an excellent day in the life take of the last day of a man before he had to go to prison for a number of years. It was great, centered around another fine performance by Ed Norton (does he do anything but?) That review will be for a different day, but if I never get around to getting to the review, take my word, rent it. Powerful stuff. With "Inside Man" Lee comes this time with a movie which on its surface seems like a typical bank heist gone wrong/hostage-negotiation movie. Which it is, but the acting and directing is top notch and the plot is tight with a number of surprises that elevates the movie above what might be expected upon seeing the trailer or poster.

"Inside Man" stars the always solid Denzel Washington, playing a typical Denzel Washington role, but once again doing it better than anybody else could, (so why get anyone else to do it?) as Detective Frazier. We quickly learn that Frazier is in a bit of trouble with the law himself, but has an opportunity to redeem himself when a bank heist becomes a hostage situation and he is responsible for the negotiation because his superior is gone on vacation. Clive Owen is the organizer and head of the heist team attempting to rob the bank (or are they?) and he believes he has the perfect plan to pull of his crime. Although there are a few scenes in which he shows his face, similar to Hugo Weaving as V in "V for Vendetta," Owen is required to do much of his acting behind a mask, leaving him to establish a strong presence on screen with only his voice and body work, and he does an admirable job. His villain is multi-dimensional and often a sympathetic character. Jodie Foster's role is very ambiguous. She plays a mysterious, strong-arm woman who is called in by the very rich, in this case the owner of the bank being robbed, to help 'fix' problems (and just why is she called in by the bank owner... what is he trying to hide?) She is strong-willed, direct, and persuasive, and Foster does a solid job of portraying this mysterious power woman.

The directing is solid and interesting, even though it is a long movie, clocking in at over 2 hours, there does not seem to be a wasted scene. There are flashforward scenes of testimony given by the hostages intercut throughout the narrative of the film, at first creating a sense of confusion in the viewer - intentionally - then slowly revealing, bit by bit,exactly what it going on and why. I found this to be interesting because it gave the viewer a chance to feel like the detectives must have trying to figure out exactly what happened and how. It is one of those movies where you find yourself pausing occasionally, especially if you're watching it with someone else, to discuss what you think is going on. And it definitely keeps you guessing right up until the very end. The conclusion makes perfect sense to the, by then, stacks of information we have been given bit by bit throughout the movie. It in no way feels cheap or added on, but a natural answer to the questions we have had viewing the movie.

I like movies like this, "12 Monkeys," "The Usual Suspects," and "Memento" are just a few examples, in which your brain gets a work out trying to figure the damn thing out as you watch it. "Inside Man," while maybe not quite as good as those, is a good mystery right up until the very end. This is due in large part to a tight screen-play, solid directing, and strong acting, making the movie a very enjoyable view.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Descent (2006)

Mordern horror movies are probably the weakest genre of movies being made today. Most horror movies released nowadays seem as if they are merely opportunities to score an easy profit for the studios. Hire a bunch of hot young minor actors, tweak a previously made movie (most likely from Japan), throw in a few descent CGI effects, promote the new movies during prime time T.V. a bit for a couple weeks, and whalla, here come throes of gullible teenagers willing to throw down the $8.50 they made from working an hour and a half at Juicy Lucy's the night before, to get a few cheap thrills. I don't blame the teenagers, and really I don't blame the studios, the only problem is that good horror movies are far and few in between.

That is what makes "The Descent" such a pleasent suprise. And not too suprising that it is not a Hollywood movie (but look for Hollywood's version starring Tara Reid and Sarah Michelle Gellar in a couple years) but is instead a British movie. Some horror movies try far too hard to have complicated plots, for example "Pulse," Hollywood's latest horror movie, has something to do with cell phones and wireless internet hookups being able to channel the dead from another world through which the demons or whatever teleport into our world, but only if you are using the right frequency during blah blah blah. The plot of "The Descent," on the other hand, is very straightforward, so here goes the overview: A group of thrill seeking women go sprelunkering in an uncharted cave in the Appalacian Mountains. Quickly things go wrong as a collapse traps the women underground in a labrynth of claustrophobic tunnels, crevaces, and complete darkness... this is worthy enough of a frightening experience, but to make things even worse, dwelling within this cave are Gollum-like monsters, (without the sympathetic Smeagol side to them) who are human-like creatures that have evolved perfectly for the environment of the cave, and they are intent on destroying the intruders to their home one by one. Bassically, women go into cave, get trapped, and are hunted down by monsters in said cave.

This plot sounds like it has the potential to be a terrible movie, but the directing is perfect for the plot and the result is a tense, bloody, fun, horrifying creep show. Don't take the kids to see this one. What the director, Neil Marshall, does exceptionally well is use old-school scare techniques using lighting or lack of lighting to set a horrifying tone throughout the movie. In some scenes for a while all we see is complete darkness, and are left to wonder what will be in front of us, or the trapped women, when there is light to show us the horrors we cannot see. It is the old addage that what you cannot see is scarryier then what you can. The women use glow sticks, matches, flares, and a camcorder with night vision to light up the complete darkness of the cave, all of these sources of light leave eery shadows and odd colors to illuminate the cave giving the cave an eery otherworldly feel. The other tactic Marshall uses to near perfection is sound, often times we hear things that will scare the wits out of us long before we can see them, just as would be the case for these trapped women in this unknown cave. There seems to be very little use of any CGI at all, instead the movie relies on lighting and sound, as well as excellent make-up and art direction to achieve its goals.

The acting is strong as can be expected. The women are all unknowns which gives a sence of reality to what would otherwise be an unbelievable story ( although if your going to a horror movie to see a believable representation of the world around us, you will always be dissapointed, most horror movies need some suspension of disbelief on the viewers part in order to succeed.) It is not without its flaws, these are brave atheletic women, however, it is hard to believe that they become the ruthless killing machines that they do at the end, especially because the one who this happens to the most is, at the beginning, the most 'soft' of the women.

But these are minor quibles, and if you are in the mood for a good, fun, scary, blood-fest (and it is very bloody!) this is a movie that can't be beat. Its not the most substantial movie of all time but it succeeds superbly at what it is trying to do and does not try to be something beyond what it is. And you have to respect that.

3 our of 4 stars