Cloud Atlas       film review by Gary Chew Movies are designed to take us out of ourselves. The fundamental differences among motion pictures are where they take us. “Cloud Atlas,” insofar as what time period it is set in, pulls as far back from human existence as I remember a movie ever doing, and takes us somewhere that requires a vantage point in a time that is … I'm not sure where. It's now playing in Sacramento at Century Greenback 16, 6233 Garfield Ave and Century Stadium 14 at 1590 Ethan Way. "Cloud Atlas" is not just set in early history, the 19th century, the early 20th century or even three-quarters into the 20th. It's also not just in 2144, the year where much of this rather

Urban Decay at the Movies The cinematic coincidences continue as we get two new films that feature urban decay, specifically with regard to the City of Detroit. In “Alex Cross,” Tyler Perry plays against type as novelist James Patterson’s long-running detective/psychologist, previously played on the big screen by Morgan Freeman (“Kiss the Girls,” “Along Came a Spider”). It’s a fairly awful movie on multiple levels – with poor acting, a story that gives itself away quite consistently, and a few special effects that would seem more at home in a late night movie on the Syfy channel. But the plot does have an interesting premise, with a rich French industrialist scheming to make money by re

Films within Films In another interesting coincidence, three of this week’s new films feature films within films as plot elements. The best one is entirely fake, one is being written as events occur, and one involves a series of home movies you’d never want to take to a place that offers film to DVD transfers. “Argo” is easily the best of the bunch, and one of the best films of the year so far. It’s more evidence that Ben Affleck’s greatest film talent is in his directing rather than his acting, although he acts here as well. It tells the true story of the improbable rescue of a six US embassy employees during the larger Iran hostage crisis. While most of those held were in the embassy i

Taken 2 Directed by Olivier Megaton When “Taken” opened, it came as a surprise for assorted reasons. The basic plot about a man who fights to free his kidnapped daughter was extremely simple, as simple as, for example, the original “Die Hard” about a cop in the wrong place at the wrong time. Both movies featured a favorite theme of mine – the reluctant hero, the person who finds themself in an unexpected and undesirable situation that requires their action. But “Taken” was also quite different from many other films of that nature in that while the hero is an ex government operative with prodigious skills, he’s also a father worried only about his daughter’s safety. Most heroes in most fi

“Looper”    Chew's Bite on “Looper" starring Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt.  Written and directed by Rian Johnson. Please pass the manohla, we have another time travel tale ...this one about hit men.               My written comment on a card to the guy running the screening of this movie the other night said, “Philip K. Dick on steroids.” Please note the fresh review of this film from Ms. Dargis for the New York Times. She too invokes Mr. Dick’s name, but not before my own invocation of that author’s handle.  Manohla might be reading my mind.  She's good, but not that good. “Looper” is covertly pregnant with visual cues and stuff...well-acted...and mounted, but com

New(ish) Films We seem to be in the middle of a run of good but not totally great films that succeed despite assorted minor flaws. Bear in mind that due to screening conflicts I haven’t been able to review “Looper” yet, but here’s a roundup of seven films that opened either today or last week in Sacramento.   The Perks of Being a Wallflower Written & Directed by Stephen Chbosky Probably the best of the current bunch is “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” which has been adapted and directed by Stephen Chobsky, based on his own novel. Logan Lerman plays Charlie, a high school freshman with a (very) troubled past who is friendless and a loner at school until he’s virtually adopted by an od

"Killer Joe" film review by Gary Chew Something told me that William Friedkin's new film, “Killer Joe,” (now playing at the Crest Theater on K Street in Sacramento) wouldn't begin with a cool saxophone reading of jazz great Benny Gholson's “Killer Joe.” Two things tipped me off. The poster for the film shows a piece of deep-fried chicken in the shape of the State of Texas ... and Matthew McConaughey has the lead. McConaughey can't be beaten when he plays a plumb loco, tough-ass cowboy type, except maybe by Woody Harrelson. Another thing I noticed before seeing “Killer Joe” was that it was listed as a comedic crime thriller. The film did thrill me from time to time, and I laughed as muc

The Master Written & Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson “The Master” is an extremely well made and well acted film that I have mixed feelings about. Joaquin Phoenix plays a young man who leaves the Navy after WWII with few clear prospects but a prodigious drinking problem – and not of the purely alcoholic kind, more of the torpedo fuel and chemical cocktail kind. After a few failed attempts at gainful employment, he finds himself in the company of an enigmatic man (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and his band of disciples, who address him as Master. Both Phoenix and Hoffman are great in their respective roles, as is Amy Adams in the lesser (as measured by screentime only) of two performances this

“The Master” film review by Gary Chew The heavyweight films move into place this time of year. Waiting for them, sometimes, makes the summer seem long. “The Master” is such a movie and is now showing at the Tower Theater, Land Park Drive at Broadway, Sacramento. Autumn also often brings contention to cinema circles. Negative reactions to Paul Thomas Anderson's latest film might cause comments such as, “What? Oh, no. Anderson's 'The Master' reminds me of Terrence Malick's 'The Tree of Life.'” Or maybe this statement could be blurted, “Goodness, has Mr. Anderson done another inaccessible, lugubrious movie like his 2007 film, 'There Will Be Blood'?" And surely I have to ask, how many qu

  “Arbitrage” film review by Gary Chew Hedge fund magnate Robert Miller has a motto, “A business must project success." Richard Gere, who just gets better with age, plays the part in Nicholas Jarecki's directorial debut of “Arbitrage,” a story about how complicated being a type A patriarch can become. The film is now showing at the Tower Theater, Land Park Drive and Broadway, Sacramento. Besides tackling the trendy slant on recent Wall Street shenanigans, “Arbitrage” returns to age-old ironies of the devout, loving family man who will do anything to provide for and secure the future of his wife and family. Tony Soprano would be the paragon of such a man. Robert Miller is no To

“Arbitrage” Directed by Nicholas Jarecki There’s an appealing and simple old school vibe to this well-paced story about a Wall Street patriarch (Richard Gere) who, at the age of 60, is in a frantic hurry to sell of the family company before it becomes apparent to family, friends, investors, and buyers that all is not quite as good as it seems on the balance sheet. A large investment has gone bad and the money plugging the hole is a very short-term fix at best, while the potential buyer for the firm is coincidentally stalling as a bargaining technique. This is a plot that could play out in any time period but it comes after a period of real life financial disasters and with the implicatio

On writing and success: Two new films As is often the case, we have two movies opening at the same time (in Sacramento) that have connected themes – both about individuals struggling to write their own material and jeopardizing their relationships in the process – one a novelist and one a comedian. And as is also often the case, the little indie movie is more satisfying than the big mainstream release, despite probably having a budget about the size of the larger movie’s food service costs. “The Words” had the potential to be a really good film and story – but somewhere along the way it failed to deliver on that potential. The cast is good, with three major characters played by Dennis Qu

Cosmopolis” film review by Gary Chew David Cronenberg is back with “Cosmopolis” and with Robert Pattinson, who's not a vampire but the character he plays is --- metaphorically. The “life blood” of Cosmopolis' hero is very verdant. The film opened Friday at the Tower Theater, Land Park Drive and Broadway, Sacramento. After reading the next three paragraphs, you may find yourself not wanting to see “Cosmopolis,” but please read on through the rest of the review before deciding. Cronenberg's script is a string of dark, philosophical conversations that are stretched across the spine of a shaky, almost non-existent plot that tells the tale of a young, nihilistic billionaire capitalist stru

"Robot & Frank" Directed by Jake Schreier This odd, low budget little movie is probably my favorite of the new releases this week, starring Frank Langella as the coincidentally titular Frank, an ex-burglar who lives alone and has early signs of some form of dementia or memory loss and a diminishing ability to take care of himself. His son Hunter (James Marsden) makes onerous weekly visits to clean the house and make sure he’s OK, while his daughter Madison (Liv Tyler) pursues social justice causes in remote spots around the world. Faced with the possibility of needing to place his ailing but reluctant father into a care facility of some kind, Hunter instead buys a robot that’s programmed

"The Imposter" Directed by Bart Layton One of the strangest films I’ve seen recently is “The Imposter,” which opens today at the Crest Theatre. It’s strange in that creepy “truth is stranger than fiction” kind of way that often accompanies accounts of real life crime and dysfunctional families – and it becomes compelling viewing as the documentary (with minor dramatic recreations of events) unfolds. In June 1994, Nicholas Barclay disappeared from San Antonio, Texas. He was a somewhat unruly kid, often in trouble. And he had briefly run away previously, if only for a night or two. In October 1997, in Spain, a young boy/man is found with no identification and no ability or willingness to

The 13th Annual Sacramento Film & Music Festival opens on Wednesday, August 15th and runs through Sunday, August 19th at the Crest Theatre. The film includes 87 projects of all lengths, programmed into 12 screenings, and representing 13 countries. While the Festival remains true to its submission-based, international, all-genre roots, this year’s program has been scheduled to provide a stronger showcase for locally produced content, with local programs on each of the five days. This includes the Festival’s own pair of nine year old programs that incubate local talent and facilitate the production of original content - “Sac Music Seen,” a music video program that pairs local filmmakers wit

This may seem like an odd pair of movies to write about together but, aside from opening in the same week, they do seem to have something in common. Both seem to want to be something while also trying to be something else, for marketing purposes, and both suffer somewhat along the way as a result. The more blatant of the two is “The Bourne Legacy” which isn’t a movie about the character Jason Bourne, but at times seems like it desperately wants to be. Without Bourne, the franchise needs a new hero but a new character has no brand equity – hence the title and the setup. We’re re-joining the action roughly where we left it, with Bourne on the run (and completely absent) but with Pamela Land

  “Ruby Sparks” film review by Gary Chew “Ruby Sparks” might be the “Little Miss Sunshine” for summer 2012. Or it could be this season's date movie with cajones. Either way, that means you have a good movie to see. That's likely because both “Sparks” and “Miss Sunshine” were directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. Bravo. The film is playing at the Tower Theater, Land Park Drive and Broadway, Sacramento, and at UA Olympus Pointe 12, 520 N. Sunrise Ave., Roseville. Written by a woman who is but 28, “Ruby” is a romantic fable created by Zoe Kazan, granddaughter of a man who has directed a film or two (Elia Kazan). With Zoe's heritage and what reads to me like a superb education, I

  “The Campaign”    film review by Gary Chew How could a super jerk incumbent candidate lose an election running on a platform of America, Jesus and freedom?  That's the ticket Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) looks to have sewn up in another unopposed run for the U-S House of Representatives from the 14th District of North Carolina.  But wait a minute, isn't that the prissy local tourist business guy, Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakas), who's just thrown his hat in the ring to run against Cam? This timely, vulgar motion picture, called “The Campaign,” is now playing at cineplexes all across this great nation of ours … and not a minute too soon, my fellow Americans.  Chris Henchy's script does

"Total Recall" Directed by Len Wiseman Somewhere in Hollywood, there’s a studio executive who apparently visited a memory implantation service and acquired a recollection of some kind of clamoring for a remake of 1990’s “Total Recall.” He should get a refund. I missed the early press screening while hosting the kickoff meeting for this year’s Sacramento Film & Music Festival’s 10x10 Filmmaker Challenge guerilla filmmaking program and so I dutifully headed out to the midnight screening. Not only is this not a remake that was calling out to be made, it’s also not a film that seems to have needed midnight screenings – the attendance at mine was more like an early Tuesday afternoon. There w