You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

December 16, 2010

Years ago, whenever a Woody Allen film opened, I was first in line. These days, not so much. That was why I waited until this one reached the dollar cinema before taking the plunge. I’m glad I didn’t pay the full price.

The plot, such as it is, involves the lives of two British couples living in present-day London, Alfie (Anthony Hopkins) and Helena (Gemma Jones), the parents of Sally (Naomi Watts) who is married to Roy (Josh Brolin). The elders have divorced because Alfie, like his namesake in a classic 1966 film and its 2004 remake, has serious issues with women and himself.

Says Who?

December 12, 2010

Lately, I’ve been revisiting one of those novels of mine that I thought was finished but really isn’t. Editors want to see much more of the main female character.

Okay, I thought. I’ll change Sophie (that’s her name) from third- to first-person. Simple enough.

I've Loved You So Long

December 10, 2010

We’re down with colds at my house, and since I didn’t want to “share the wealth” by coughing all over my fellow moviegoers in a cramped theater, I decided to dip into the treasure trove backlogged on my DVR. Out popped “I’ve Loved You So Long,” a French-language film released in 2008 starring the British actress Kristin Scott Thomas in a role that’s fairly typical for her.

127 Hours

December 2, 2010

Sometimes a director is the right person to tell a story. Such was the case with Danny Boyle’s last film, “Slumdog Millionaire," winner of eight Academy Awards, but unfortunately not with his current offering, “127 Hours.”

The movie is based upon the real-life experience of Aron Ralston (recounted in a 2004 memoir with the groan-inducing title Between a Rock and a Hard Place). Hiking alone in Utah’s Blue John Canyon, he fell into a crevasse. His right hand was pinned between the canyon wall and a large immovable boulder. After winching himself into place, he survived for five days with almost no food or water, until he…let’s just say he did some creative surgery on himself, got free, and staggered to safety.