Running with Scissors (2006)

This was a very, very funny and strange movie. It’s the definition of a DARK comedy.

In “Running With Scissors,” teenager Augusten Burroughs, played by Joseph Cross (Flags of Our Fathers), shares a variety of shocking and unfathomable stories from his journal writing, being the son of an alcoholic father, played by Alec Baldwin (The Departed), and having a mentally unstable mother, played by Annette Bening (American Beauty).

After the separation of his parents, Burroughs is handed off into the care of his mother’s therapist, Dr. Finch, played by Brian Cox (Red Eye), and spends his adolescent years as a member of Finch’s bizarre extended family.

Most situations in this picture are very sad; however, its saddest moments are its strongest, especially in the later half of the picture.

The performances were outstanding, a benchmark for the year’s performances in general. Bening was a pinnacle of the ensemble. Cox, Baldwin, Cross, Gwenyth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes were freakin’ out of the park with what they brought to the film, but Bening was simply jaw-dropping. I hope she’s remembered come Oscar® time.

“Running With Scissors” is a very tough movie to watch. It’s difficult to live these odd occurrences with a 14-year-old boy and feel his struggle to find a peaceful rhythm among it all.

The picture is laugh out loud funny in several spots, and there are many of them. It certainly helps cope with how sad and depressing the picture can tend to be. Overall, I think this was one of the better movies of 2006. It’s interesting. It’s very emotionally strong and very humorous.

Running Scared (2006)

Usually, when a movie is THIS awkward and weird, I don’t get into it. Not that I really enjoyed this one, but it was interesting to some degree.

In this extremely odd mobster fairy tale, low level mob thug Joey Gazelle, played by Paul Walker (Eight Below), has to dispose of a “hot” gun used in the killing of a dirty cop.

Problems come up when Oleg, the Russian kid next door, played by Cameron Bright (Ultraviolet), steals the gun from Joey’s hiding place and uses it in attempt to kill his abusive meth addicted father. Joey now has to locate runaway Oleg and the gun before either the dirty cops or his mobster colleagues kill him.

Whether is it was sex, violence, ridiculously harsh language or some other form of perversion–like an adult couple who shoot videos of them molesting children and then carving them into pieces–this movie had something in every scene to raise an eyebrow at. This was the first “What the f**k was that” kind of movie of the year (2006).

The film literally tried to turn this awkward mob movie into a fairy tale. Like shadows of dark lurking beasts in opaque windows, when there are none; just their shadows. If you don’t get the fairy tale comparison, just watch the end credits and tell me what YOU make out of it.

The movie was so odd, I honestly don’t know if I should recommend people seeing it, cause I didn’t like it, OR I should tell people to see it cause it’s odd and different.

“Running Scared” also had such unnecessary violence it actually bothered me. In the opening scene, I almost felt like they were sensationalizing the violence so much so that I wouldn’t recognize the fact it doesn’t have any decent material.

Vera Farmiga (15 Minutes) played Gazelle’s hot wife and she gets her crotch pleasured in the laundry room during their first scene together. She’s sure hot and has an interesting face, but their relationship was as odd as the rest of the picture. The “lust” scene between them skirted an NC-17 rating.

The other thing I don’t like about this movie is it shows the world as not having a single decent person among it. Everyone is a bad person for some reason. No one wants to do anything of value or better himself or herself, so the setting was a little tough to believe. I think it falls into writer/director Wayne Kramer’s (Crossing Over, The Cooler) fairytale concept.

Overall, “Running Scared” sucked, but it was interesting.

Runaway Jury (2003)

“Runaway Jury,” an adaptation of the novel by John Grisham, tells the story of Nicholas Easter, played by John Cusack (Identity, Serendipity), who attempts to work his way onto the jury of a highly publicized trial between a widow and a major firearm manufacturer.

Once Easter is on the jury, we discover he and his girlfriend Marlee, played by Rachel Weisz (Confidence, About a Boy), are using the jury to bribe both the plaintiff and defense attorneys for a decision in their favor.

However, defense attorney Durwood Cable (Bruce Davison, X-Men) is corruptly controlled by Rankin Fitch, played by two-time Academy Award winner Gene Hackman, who has the expertise, staff and technology to illegally track jurors who would vote in their favor anyway.

The movie turns into a secret battle between Fitch, Easter and company for control over the jurors, until we find out everyone’s true motives towards the finale.

playing the prosecuting attorney is also a two-time Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman, who becomes the picture’s voice of the anti-gun lobby.

The issue at hand is obviously controversial and has for many recent years. “Runaway Jury” is not afraid to share what side of the fence its views are on, which tends to drag the film down a bit.

Anti-gun dialogue tends to be heavy handed and the opposition has moments of rebuttal, but not enough to call the picture fair and balanced.

However, the tension created by director Gary Fleder is well crafted, as well as the film’s sense of time. Fleder has big screen works like “Imposter” and “Don’t Say a Word” to his credit, but his efforts in television on shows like “The Shield” and “R.U.S.H.” make up the bulk of his resume.

Writer Brian Koppelman adapted “Runaway Jury” with convincing dialogue. Even characters tend to get long winded at times, one could believe he or she would have that much to say. Koppelman also penned the films “Knockaround Guys” and “Rounders.”

In the past, several of Grisham’s novels have been made into feature motion pictures, including “The Pelican Brief,” “A Time To Kill” and “The Firm,” among others.

Despite over-expressed political views, “Runaway Jury” is a solid courtroom dramatic thriller.

Rumor Has It… (2005)

This was a fairly sweet movie about a young woman chasing the memory of her mother; however, the production lacked everything it needed to be considered special.

“Rumor Has It…” is inspired by an actual case where one family believed they were the inspiration for the book “The Graduate” and subsequent movie of the same title. Confused with her place in life and identity, Sarah Huttinger, played by Jennifer Aniston (The Good Girl), finds out her late mother had an affair with a man named Beau Burrows one week before marrying her father. As she digs deeper she discovers her grandmother, played by Academy Award® winner Shirley McClaine (Postcards from the Edge), had an affair with the same man.

Eventually, Sarah seeks out Burrows to see if he is her biological father, but instead she gets drunk and sleeps him, making Burrows record 3-0 with the females in her bloodline.

The picture’s greatest strength was the inner motivations for both Sarah and Beau for having a small unsubstantiated romance. Both characters were searching for a piece of the memory of Sarah’s mother, whom both loved deeply. Once the motivations came out, their actions made sense. Up until then, I could NOT understand why either person was allowing a romantic relationship to develop.

Aniston has a lot of great sequences, opening the show showing her concern for her choices from the top of the show with just her face. As the picture progress, you could see and hear her inner conflict. She’s done better in some other projects, but this was a good part for her.

Shirley McClaine was providing the only laughs of the movie. I have a problem even labeling this picture a comedy, since it’s only ONE character who has anything funny to retort. McClaine was awesome, however. There was no one better to give all the funny lines to.

Richard Jenkins (Fun with Dick and Jane) also did a good job as Sarah’s father. Mark Ruffalo (Just Like Heaven) and Kevin Costner (The Postman) were both tools in this movie. Although Costner handled his character just fine, he didn’t MAKE the role his own. I think someone else could have really made it special; same goes for Ruffalo.

The picture had one big problem. The performances and the material were not where near special enough to make this movie memorable. I liked that the picture stayed away from a couple of conventional turns it easily could have made, so I’m not talking about its originality, simply its ability to be memorable. I think maybe that would be director Rob Reiner’s (A Few Good Men, Misery) miss.

Overall, I think you could skip “Rumor Has It…” among your movies to catch in the theaters. It may even play BETTER on your home DVD system. I’m going to buy it simply it’s an OKAY Jennifer Aniston movie, but I don’t think you’ll miss much if you let this one die at the box office; however, if you DO decide to see it, I don’t think you’ll be entirely disappointed.

The Rules of Attraction (2002)

I honestly didn’t think these kind of consciousless drug and sex movies were being made anymore.

“The Rules of Attraction” is this all over the place movie written and directed by Academy Award® winner Roger Avery (Killing Zoe, Pulp Fiction). It is about a handful of college students and their personal conflicts leading up to their dorm’s end of the world party.

The film spends gobs of screen time on how horrible college students live and tests the boundaries of all that is safe and moral.

Avery’s choices of what to show throughout certain transitions and scenes is purely unintelligent and contrived, almost like he is trying SO hard to show what an artist he is.

For example, what good is it to show two characters in a spit screen for 45 seconds; one side is Shannyn Sossamon aimlessly wandering the halls of her dorm, not drunk, just lost for some unexplained reason. The other side makes us watch James Van Der Beek (Varsity Blues) taking a shit on the toilet…FOR 45 SECONDS?! WHAT THE F**K?!

The picture continued to throw whatever it felt at the viewer without thinking twice, or even thinking if it “fits” the concept of the picture, which I honestly have to say, I don’t think there is one.

Without a single good quality in any of these characters, why are we supposed to care about them and care about what happens to them next. They are all bad people who learn nothing. The viewer learns nothing. The director learned nothing.

So, let me help YOU (the reader) learn something…STAY AWAY FROM THIS FILM IF YOU LIKE MOVIES WITH A DECENT IDEA AND SOMETHING TO SAY. This has neither.

The only good thing about this movie? Jessica Biel (Stealth) plays a total slut and is extremely gorgeous in it, otherwise, I was counting the minutes until director Avery decided he was finished and ended the picture.

The movie wasn’t even funny. It is simply director Avery saying, “Take this, and this, and this, and THIS!” Force fed scenes with force fed material. Crap.

Rudy (1993)

This is probably my favorite movie regarding football ever, even though it’s not really a football movie.

“Rudy” is about true life title character Rudy Ruettiger, who was a walk on senior for Norte Dame Fighting Irish college football. The picture shows his life from a lower middle income home where he and his siblings are meant to get married and work the rest of their lives, not go to college.

Ruettiger however keeps his dream to attend NDU and play for the Irish so close, that when his best friend is killed in an accident at work, he hits the road to fullfill it.

Rudy attends the neighboring college, hoping to fight off his learning disabilities and get grades high enough to get accepted and transfer to Norte Dame his junior year. Eventually he does. Then, he must try out for the Irish. He does, and given he’s such a small guy, he gets the shit kicked out of him. His determination however gets him on the practice squad until the last game of his senior year when he’s finally allowed to suit up with his parents watching from the stands.

The climax of the picture is the moment Rudy gets to take the field on defense, since the Irish are so far ahead and in no danger of losing, a stadium of students chanting his name. On the last play of the game, he sacked the quarterback of the opposing team and is carried of the field by his teammates and students who have rushed the field. The moment is tear jearking.

The DVD has a great special feature with the actual Rudy Ruettiger telling his story and where the film diverted for dramatic interpretation. Come to find out, the film is very close to acurate. Ruettiger himself begins crying on camera just talking about the final play of that game.

I have never encounted such a heart felt movie about football, but actually, the movie is about one young man’s fight against his own physical and mental limitations and his living environment telling him he” never amount to anything, especially a college graduate.

Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings trilogy) plays Rudy perfectly, while Ned Beatty (Network, Life) is solid as the patriarc of his large catholic family. John Favreau also appears as the teacher’s aide who helps Rudy overcome his learning disabilities, in exchange for teaching him how to talk to girls.

When someone asks me to list my favorite sports oriented movies, “Rudy” may be at the top of the list. It is truly an inspiring story of sticking to one’s dreams and doing whatever it takes to achieve them. This DVD disc is a must own.

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

I will never be able to figure out why “The Royal Tenenbaums” nabbed an original screenplay Academy Award nomination for Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson. Even being a fan of Wes Anderson’s work, I have to say this picture was feeble at best.

“The Royal Tenenbaums” is a completely unmotivated look at a severely dysfunctional family and its members, led by patriarch Royal Tenenbaum, played by two time Academy Award winner Gene Hackman.

Tenenbaum, after having been disowned by the family, decides to work his way back into their good graces.

The picture appears to lose direction from may have been a story. It rides on the shoulders of its well-developed characters, but not in a way it makes its audience care about what happens to them. Hackman was incredible in the picture, as was Danny Glover who appears as his former wife’s new suitor. The only major scene between the two was littered with veteran acting experience.

However, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson and even Ben Stiller were a bore in this picture as the Tenenbaum children (Owen’s character was adopted in name, while Paltrow’s was adopted on paper). Obviously, their characters had a lot going on inside, but I simply couldn’t bring myself to give a crap.

The only sub-plot I took an interest in was Luke Wilson as Richie Tenenbaum and his love for adopted sister Margot Tenenbaum (Paltrow). Of course, the only bit of the movie I was enjoying ended up going no where.

Overall, I have to give this picture a big shrug. Some may like it, I pretty much don’t. There were things that were interesting, but if Wes Anderson’s style is what you enjoy than rent “Bottle Rockets” and “Rushmore,” which is hilarious. Leave “The Royal Tenenbaums on the shelf.

Romper Stomper (1992)

This is a little known indie-Aussie film which helped propel Russell Crowe’s career. I find it extremely intriguing, but because of the split material, it comes off as a little unfocused.

“Romper Stomper” is a very close look at the lifestyle of an Australian neo-nazi skinhead gang and their trail of hate crimes against their neighborhood Asian-Australians.

Eventually, the film turns into a love triangle between the skinhead gang leader Hando, played by Academy Award winner Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind), his closest friend Davey, played by the late Daniel Pollock (Proof), and Hando’s girlfriend Gabe, played by Jacqueline McKenzie (Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood).

The material for the picture is divided into two main acts. The first act is a straight look into the skinhead lifestyle, opening with a violent hate crime against a young Asian couple.

The following 40 minutes to an hour follows the gang during a loud and obnoxious party, more hate crimes, and finally ending with all the neighborhood Asian-Australian youths coming together to beat the crap out of all the skinheads and torch their hideout.

At that point, the love triangle begins when Davey falls for Gabe, and vice versa, forcing Davey to have a different perspective on life and leave the gang. Gabe gets pissed at Hando and drops a dime on the whole gang, leaving them to get busted by the cops. She seeks out Davey and the two begin their love affair, until Hando shows up, having escaped the cops.

The second half of the picture is by far the more interesting and exciting. The first half is simply sad and educational, but after see where the movie ends up, it makes much of the opening hour a little unnecessary.

Writer/director Geoffrey Wright (Lover Boy, Cherry Falls) wrote solid characters in his script, but his story writing leaves much to be revised.

Crowe was frightening as Hando, while Pollock was very subtle as Davey. McKenzie held her own between the two, but was not very memorable for the most part.

Pollock killed himself shortly after filming, by throwing himself under a train. Why is that such a common form of suicide for the British? Anyways…

If you like indie film, “Romper Stomper” is one to make sure you see, even though some scenes are tough to watch. It’s tough even imagining a group of youths living in such conditions; very strong in that regards.

Make sure you rent the DVD and not a VHS copy, since the DVD has some of the best corrective color and resolution film processing I’ve seen in a long time. It’s clear as glass on DVD, even though shot on 16 mm film.

Role Models (2008)

This one is what I call sit-com level comedy.

Basically, in sit-com writing, aided by a team of 12 or so comedy writers in the same room, a sit-com script has an industry standard of three big laughs for every completed page – which transfers to a minute of screen time.

That’s this movie. There were at least three big laughs in every minute of screen time, almost start to finish.

Danny and Wheeler, played by Paul Rudd (40-Year-Old Virgin) and Seann William Scott (Mr. Woodcock), are forced to perform 150 hours of community services after Danny has an emotional crisis, leading up to them smashing a company truck.

With the help of Danny’s recent ex-girlfriend and lawyer Beth, played by Elizabeth Banks (Zack and Miri Make a Porno), the pair do their time with a “big brother”-like organization called Sturdy Wings, run by a former drug addict, played by Jane Lynch.

Once there, they meet the young foul-mouthed Ronnie and the live-action rollplaying teen Augie, and all four begin to grow in their respective ways.

This one isn’t the greatest comedy to hit the screens in 2008, but it is definitely one of the funniest and most enjoyable. It has some plot issues and un-established character archs. Aside from that, this one is a must see for me.

Scott and Rudd make a pretty good team, but their scenes with their respective kids are what made the movie. The story is more about Danny, and Rudd carries it nicely.

The standout in my opinion among the cast was Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who played McLovin in 2007′s Superbad, as Augie. The picture’s best decision was to NOT make fun of the kid. Augie was real and funny cause we know kids like him are out there; however, the comedy came from Danny’s responses to him and his rollplaying fantasy world.

Augie and the world of LAIRE, as his rollplaying community is called, also served as the vehicle of non-stop laughter in the tail of act three.

Act three was actually pretty far-fetched, but the whole Kiss thing-which is all I will say-was a great twist. It had a VERY funny climax, and it’s definitely worth seeing.

Jane Lynch-who I find myself strangely attracted to-was also great as the Sturdy Wings founder and director. She’s starting to become one of my favorite comedic actors in her age group.

The only reason why other 2008 comedies stand over this one is, “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” were just as funny but simply had more to say.

Also, a lesser-known actress Carly Craig was also smokin hot and actually gives us a topless scene. I’ll be watching for her to re-emerge for sure. On screen, I mean, not like from the bushes across her street.

See “Role Models.” There’s big laughs and plenty of them.

Roll Bounce (2005)

This is going to sound weird, but I have to compare this 1970s urban youth melodrama to the TNBC show “Saved By the Bell.” Not in story or character, but simply in its approach.

“Roll Bounce” is about a group of kids who love to dance-skate, but their local rink has been closed down. So, they start going to a more fancy rink on the other side of town, where they come face to face with Sweetness, the resident roller stud and his cronies. Eventually, the two groups clash, and they decide to compete at the upcoming roller-dance off for a $500 prize. I know that’s not much, but it is set in the 70s.

Much like the picture “Miracle,” which hired skaters and hockey players and taught them how to act, this picture hired roller-dancers and taught them to act as well. There were a couple of exceptions. What does this mean? The director Malcolm D. Lee (Undercover Brother) locked himself into a melodramatic presentation, cause his roller-dancers turned actors had no chance of pulling off a realistic performance.

I think the melodrama of the movie was corny, but I didn’t care. At least it was consistent and fit the concept of the show. The best reasons to see this movie are for the roller-dance sequences and the music. There wasn’t a single dancing scene were I wasn’t starting to move in my seat.

There is a subplot between Xavier, played by rap artist Bow Wow, one of the out of neighborhood boys, and his father, played by Chi McBride (TV’s Boston Public), having lost the matriarch of the family a year earlier. With their storyline, the actors had some very nice moments, which some what elevated the picture’s production quality from its melodramatic roots.

Another very funny and solid performance came from Wesley Jonathan (TV’s City Guys) as the nemesis Sweetness. The “coolness” this guy had dripping off him was TOO MUCH, to where I HAD to laugh at him. There was no taking the guy seriously, and his performance fit perfectly into the concept.

Mike Epps (Next Friday) and Charles Murphy (King’s Ransom) also make small appearances to pick up some laughs.

Overall, if the roller-dancing scenes interest you at all, you should love this picture. I’ll probably get it in my collection on those scenes alone.