‘Movie Corner’ Archives
Solitary Man & The Karate Kid
Solitary Man (2009) ***1/2 Millennium Films Comedy/Drama Running Time: 90 minutes Director: Brian Koppelman and David Levien Michael Douglas as graying old Ben Kalmen is neither villain nor hero in “Solitary Man,” Mr. Kalmen in his heyday was a sparkling car dealer for New York”'s Honest Car Dealership. He”'s saliently flawed in the morality department by cheating on his wife Nancy (Susan Sarandon) and disappointed his daughter Susan (Jenna Fischer) too many times to count. Interestingly enough, Ben”'s not solitary by choice but because of his breaking trust with the ones he loves. His new girlfriend Jordan (Mary-Louise Parker) asks him to accompany her college-bound daughter Allyson (Imogen Poots) to a college interview at his alma mater. He”'s reluctant to go but he goes anyway. Later (as he has done in the past) he makes more injudicious choices. Michael Douglas is one of those actors who can look like he”'s in crisis or about to [...]
Police, Adjective & The Ghost Writer
by Howard McQuitter Police, Adjective (2009) *** Twentieth Century Fox Lagoon Running Time: 115 minutes Language: Romanian Director: Corneliu Porumboiu Bucharest detective Cristi (Dragos Bucur) trails a teenage boy who may be a hashish user, trying to find his supplier. Cristi would rather stop what seems to be overkill in finding small quantities of drugs on a 16 or 17 year old boy. Examining cigarette butts after the boy or his friends leave isn”'t what Cristi relishes doing. Cristi”'s boss (Vlad Ivanov, “4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days”) wants convictions; Cristi wants a far softer approach, clemency if you will, for a conviction can mean 15 years and ruin the boy”'s life, which is against his conscience. Perhaps his boss”' draconian approach to the boy (we never know his name) is rooted in the Ceausescu regime (1965-1989), a former iron-fisted Communist rule in Romania. “Police, Adjective” is certainly not for everyone [...]
Fish Tank & Repo Man
by Howard McQuitter Fish Tank (2009) **** Lagoon Drama Running time: 123 minutes Director: Andrea Arnold Unrated The movie starts rather slowly, but the plot becomes more clear as the main character Mia (Katie Jarvis) waddles through meaning her life at age 15. She feels trapped by her environment in the projects in an English city. Her mother Joanne (Kiersten Wareino), is a blond busty woman who loves to party and dance. Mia”'s little sister Tyler (Rebecca Griffins) plays around the tenement though she would often prefer following Mia around. Joanne”'s boyfriend Connor (Michael Fassbender of “Inglorious Basterds” and “Hunger”) seems okay, a happy-go-lucky guy with a job at a factory. The film is seen through the eyes of Misa, a school drop out, teased by boys in the neighborhood and she”'s a loner. She often uses a vacant apartment above her own to practice break-dancing while watching break-dance videos. She tries to free a [...]
