Kim Gentes

Romance that happens just once every four years.

Summary: In a genre that brings us the very definition of sappiness, "Leap Year" breaks ranks with a surprising, witty and artfully wholesome film that will absolutely win for a date night. And the biggest surprise will be that the guy will actually enjoy watching this film.

Review: Once upon a time romance movies were a script so predictable, that the price tag at the box office was the only thing to remind us that there was supposed to be value attached to this art form.  In recent years, graphic language and scenes replaced good romantic tension as a crude substitute for the film ethos.

Leap Year crests the new year with a brilliant romantic comedy that will still warm your heart with a slightly predictable story, while riveting your attention with an eclectic and engaging cast.

A number of the "professional" critics dance with their angry hammers on this film- it is just too clean for the Hollywood banter to believe it could relate to "real people"- since the film shows no sex, and has virtually no offensive language.  The story is obvious and clear. You and your date will know what is going to happen, perhaps except for the last 5 minutes. But that is the point- this story was meant to warm and encourage, not be a gritty or esoteric "reality check".  But the couple that discovers one another in this story is the focus of it, not the story.  Two very adept actors here, Amy Adams and Matthew Goode, have genuine spark and nuance to their dialog.  There are some stock laughs, but also enough odd twist humor to keep it fresh.

Guys, you don't have to like romantic comedies to see this film- you will enjoy it anyways. If tonight is a night to escape and enjoy, and cuddle up with your date, then see "Leap Year". You'll enjoy it! The best light hearted, romantic comedy I have seen in a long while.

Amazon DVD Link: http://amzn.to/quGqMU

Review by Kim Gentes.

Heartache. Rage. Reconciliation.

Summary: Sadly, we don't get to determine most of the tragedies that enter our lives. Most times, all we have is our choice in how to responsd. This film is about the choices we make. Some to bring calamity on others. Some to respond to unthinkable tragedy brought upon us. This is a character film, reaching to the very depths of what drives and motivates us. It's not a fairy tale, but it is truly excellent.

Full Review: Watching movies is often an escape from the real world- an attempt to see heros and heroines succeed, lift our spirits and make us laugh.  A way for us to remove ourselves from the drudgery of "real life" to enjoy the "good life". This film, "Five Minutes of Heaven", is none of those things. Rather than escaping from the painful reality of life, it plunges into the deep end of dispair that is a literal hell on earth for the very real people who live in the blunt force world of criminal acts, lifelong grief and unescapable loss.

The film, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, is meant to be a pseudo documentary of "reality show" in which Liam Neeson's character, Alistair, prepares and meets James Nesbitt's character, Joe, after many years separated a cold-blooded assasination perptrated by the former and witnessed by the latter.  This film is actually "inspired by true events", which seems believable enough. The setting is Northern Ireland, amidst the death and terror of sectarian violence brought on by murderous factions of Catholics and Protestants. In that context, Alistair plots and executes a plan to kill Joe's brother, for no real reason other than they lived as two people in the opposite camp of the world of the tinderbox that was Northern Ireland's violent 1970s.

Joe witnesses the act and is left not only traumatised, but shamed by his remaining family who can do nothing with their grief but pile accusations on the 10 year old Joe. Alistair, however, finds his life eventually turning 180 degrees away from the violence of his past. Eventually, he not only rejects the violence he once perpetrated, he works for years to bring a message of reconciliation and call for families and communities to reach out to young people who might be tempted to turn to violence in similar situations.

All this comes to a head when a peacemaking, reconciliation group asks to film a meeting between the two people. What happens is not only unexpected but gritty. In the end, the movie is about reality, not pie-in-the-sky reconciliation. But it gets to the truth about why people do things at such base levels, and what possible hope there is for lives torn by such tragedy.

I would say that Liam Neeson was stellar and deserves awards for his acting- and I'd be right. He is truly in command of his character and never faulters. But it really ends up being James Nesbitt's film. Not just in time of screen minutes, but in power of his performance. Nesbitt becomes the horrific, sad, lost, angry and even hopeful boy and man that we all fear and believe he must become. All the while, we hope for better. He makes us hope. Nesbitt makes this film have such power and honesty, he really stands above Neeson- which is an almost impossible task.  Because both do such an amazing job, the plot, timing, emotions and characters all fit into the realm of perfection.

This is a film which is laden with cursing and overwhelming emotional scenes. It is for no child under 15, in my opinion. Even older children will be shaken by this film internally, as will adults.

If you have a chance to watch this film, do not hesitate. It is one of the best films in the last 5 years. Really, it's that good.

Amazon DVD Link: http://amzn.to/Q8xx4t

Review by Kim Gentes.

Boldly go where no prequel has gone before.

Summary: Instead of patronizing us with a film to placate the trekky hordes, this film completely revamps the Star Trek legacy, giving us grit, humanity, plot believability and fantasy in what used to be a one dimensional world of trek-dom; a triumph of what can be possible with a great filmmaker at the helm.

Review: Writing a new movie for a decades old iconic franchise is the pivotal "chance-of-a-lifetime" for any director. And few succeed. But JJ Abrams is no ordinary director. His prestine vision of the ultimate rebirth of the Star Trek universe infuses, above all, a powerful humanity into the long-loved science fiction yarn.

For over 40 years the legacy of Gene Roddenberry's story has conveyed many things- fantasy, fiction, technology, adventure, characature and time travel.  But rarely did you see much more than characature and stereotype in the development of the cast.  This may seem strange given the cast, but we found each member of the Enterprise to ultimately become one dimensional place holders that allowed for a plot driven TV show that lived on twists and technology to keep us interested.  Character development was never a strong suit of the franchise.  It was attempted moreso in the follow-on movies of the last 3 decades, but never ascended to become more than enhancements of the originals: an arrogant Kirk, calculating Spock, acerbic Bones and mindless Checkov (etc).  

Then comes this new Star Trek, told to us this time from the man who brought us the best movie of 2007 (Cloverfield)- a movie he shot (seemingly) entirely through a single camera- and pulls it off with flying colors.  Abrams is always reaching to pull in the viewer, making everything human, flesh-touchable, gritty.  He succeeds in Star Trek (2009).

Kirk becomes pretentious and arrogant, but fraught with that same guise as a mask to his own failure and pain. Bones is acerbic, for sure, but we gain a look at his real life that exposes those origins. Most of all, we see Spock.  A Spock that is far more human than he ever has been.  Strangely, this makes his Vulcan story seem far more believable.  You grasp his story, you believe it, and you love the ride it takes you on.  But let's be clear- this story is about the rise of James T. Kirk.  It's his human path to a starry, almost super-human stature as the pre-eminant character of science fiction lore.

It's perfectly done, very well acted, and a great adventure tale to boot.  There have been rumblings of "true trekkies" that have dissed the film.  I expected as much.  The vitality of the tales have never been more brilliant in this new film for Star Trek, but we have left behind the plastic, inhuman characters that the original series had given us.  A welcome change.  If you even remotely like sci-fi, this film will delight you.  See it in the theatres, as the shots and action are very engaging.

(I have to say it... even if Nemoy won't!)

Live long and prosper!

Amazon link: http://amzn.to/UvqQty

Review by Kim Gentes.

A truly special movie.

Summary: Ingenious story, focused acting, indie grit visuals and daring direction that doesn't falter; content warnings- some offensive language, some violence and drug use. In my opinion, this movie is not for anyone under 15.  Serious emotional and adult concepts that will be too much for any child.  Again, this movie is rated R, and is not for children.

Full Review: We all strive to be something important in life.  To make a mark, to be involved in something significant.  We want to love and ultimately be loved for who we truly are.  We want to be special. To someone.  Les Franken (played by Michael Rapaport) is just just like you and I.  He is looking for that time, place and relationship in which life fits, your contribution counts and things matter.

But like so many of us, the outward signs for Les are not harrowing his uniqueness in the universe.  Quite the opposite. From his job, to his friends, to desolate outlook on his daily existence, Les's life is a deluge of despair all quietly festering in polite secrecy to the rest of world. 

Until today. Les gets a chance to join a study for a final trial on an anti-depressant drug.  In fact, the drug becomes all Les dreams- or more aptly- Les becomes all he dreams.

The story and preview market the movie as though it were some smart-neck comedy, but it is far from that.  With blisteringly wry pathos "Special" delivers an unnerving look at the human soul.  Simplistic at times and broken, as we all are, it reverts to the disparity between emotional hopes and the blunt force trauma of reality. There are plenty of coy hyperboles here, but all hit you like a sledgehammer instead of a joke.  In the end, the movie watcher feels like the only joke has been in the shallow portrayal that Hollywood film so often (otherwise) makes of real people's problems.

This movie was brilliant, but it is not for everyone.  If want a chuckle, don't go here. If you want an answer, you're not looking in the right spot either.  But sometimes to find a crumb of truth, you need to search for something found only in pain and failure.  And into this world you go, with Les as your guide. And if you can handle the journey, you will indeed find something Special.

Amazon Link : http://amzn.to/UKJlKW

Review by Kim Gentes.

The real punishment happened to those who bought tickets.

Summary: Average story, bad casting, poor acting, disgustingly poor visuals and a director that fell asleep; content warnings- prolonged scenes of intense violence and B-movie gore.

For this movie, its hard to pick where to start with the review. Out of the gate, I think the casting was the core problem.  Maybe the most effective and believable death blow in the film was dealt by Jennifer Smith and Tricia Wood whose work on casting strung together a group of misfit action and side-line characters that can't play their roles.  It starts with Ray Stevenson who is abysmally cast as Frank Castle, the Punisher.  I rarely compare movies in a series when leads change, but Thomas Jane did a crisp rendition of the Marvel Comic vigilante in the 2004 release of the Punisher.  He was emotive when engaged in human contact and dark and brooding when overtaken by greif and vengence as the story calls for. Stevenson looks thoughtless and dismissive of the role he is given.  When he has a scene to strike the tension of human and vengeful warrior, he plummets into cutesy comments and unconvincing stoic acknowledgement of emotions.  It was lame.

Dominic West who plays the villian, Jigsaw, is given a corny set of lines that don't come close to anything other than a comedic failure of the essense intended for his character.  The normally intensely brilliant Doug Hutchison tries to save the film with his always intense acting, but is given unbelievably over the top dialog and scenes which comprise of him biting a man to death and joking about "axing" someone a question which he chases him down with a tree chopper.  If it was just a action filled movie with reasonable violence that made sense, I'd have chalked it up to a standard Hollywood grab at the "guy movie" for the holidays.  But this was so poorly executed, they saw the writing on the wall.  To rescue it, they threw in way over-the-top gore scenes of just plane stupid violence.  Nothing about the movie made sense.  Stevenson didn't even look fit for the the agile, near super-quick and smart actions scenes of the Punisher.  He was slow, unconvincing and kept looking like he was ready for a latte break.

Honestly, I'd rather have watched the 2004 version of the Punisher again (for the 10th time) than watch this movie.  I wouldn't even recommend you renting it for any reason. There is nothing there to watch, unless maybe you like campy 50's, B-movie gore attempting to be a big time action film.  One has to wonder whether rumors of a dispute with the director, Lexi Alexander, and the movie company Lionsgate didn't have some effect here.  This film looks like Alexander worked for the first 45 minutes, when let chaos reign on the set, not just the story line.

Thoroughly disappointing and disgusting.

Amazon Link: http://amzn.to/SxJzok

Review by Kim Gentes.