Movies Dearz

The stage musical Billy Elliot includes the showstopping song "Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher," a satiric ode to the long-reigning, conservative British Prime Minister. Appropriately, a new film biography of Thatcher, The Iron Lady, is arriving in US theaters this Christmas holiday season. Meryl Streep stars in the title role and gives yet another amazing, award-worthy performance (La Meryl has already won the New York Film Critics' award for Best Actress and been nominated for SAG and Golden Globe honors for her work here). If only the movie that surrounds her was as good.

The Iron Lady charts Thatcher's rise to power from her humble beginnings as daughter of a provincial grocer to becoming the first and only woman to date to serve as Prime Minister. It also explores her current and -- if the film is to be believed -- fairly demented status, conversing with her beloved late husband (wonderfully played by Jim Broadbent), bemoaning the high price of milk and saying things (not so dementedly) like "It used to be about trying to do something; Now it's about trying to be someone." Whether this is an accurate representation or not, Streep is especially good depicting Thatcher's later years and embodying an elderly woman in general.

As erratically written by Abi Morgan and chaotically directed by Phyllida Lloyd (who previously paired with Streep in bringing Mamma Mia! to the screen), the film is oddly constructed and shifts back and forth in time not only within minutes but sometimes within the same minute. It is at once convoluted and simplistic. To the filmmakers' and Streep's credit, though, The Iron Lady is never boring. I even wonder if it would work better as a musical, given Streep's and Lloyd's last joint success. Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I is even referenced at several points, with Thatcher and husband Dennis joyfully dancing together. Maybe Elton John and Lee Hall, who co-wrote Billy Elliot for the stage, can take The Iron Lady on as their next project.


Years after Thatcher's leadership ended, things aren't looking so good in London. Despite this year's lavish royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, London has been subjected to political and economic unrest, violent riots and terrorist attacks. One devastating act of terrorism in 2005 has inspired the powerful new drama London River, which is already playing in New York City and opens this weekend in Los Angeles.

Brenda Blethyn (perhaps best remembered for her high-strung "Sweetie Darling" turn in 1996's Secrets & Lies) plays Elizabeth, the rural mother of a London-based daughter. When her daughter fails to return her phone calls in the wake of coordinated bombings that killed 52 people and injured more than 700, Elizabeth goes to London to see what's going on. Once there, she learns that her daughter had been taking classes in Arabic and fallen in with a group of possibly radical Muslims. Elizabeth also meets Ousmane (the late Sotigui Kouyate, who won the Berlin Film Festival's Silver Bear for Best Actor), a French arborist searching for his son.

As they interview police, teachers and friends, Elizabeth and Ousmane must confront the growing reality that their children aren't the people they thought they knew and, worse, may have been at least partly responsible for the terrorist attack. Director Rachid Bouchareb (who helmed the Oscar-nominated Days of Glory and Outside the Law) draws excellent, haunting performances from Blethyn and Kouyate. Ultimately moving and cautionary, London River shouldn't be missed.

Reverend's Ratings:
The Iron Lady: B-
London River: B+

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

If you haven’t yet found the perfect stocking stuffer for your better half, a number of gay and lesbian-themed DVDs have come out that will make your choice easier. These are all films that had little to no public release yet, so you are sure to look impressive for finding them. It’s okay, we won’t tell!

Into the Lion’s Den(QC Cinema /Breaking Glass Pictures):
Into the Lion’s Den is a gripping and graphic gay take on exploitation horror films like Hostel and Vacancy where unsuspecting travelers are lured into a deadly trap. Bored by the West Hollywood gay scene, three buddies, jaded Johnny (Jesse Archer), sweet Michael (Ronnie Kroell) and naïve Ted (Kristen-Alexzander Griffith) decide to drive cross country to New York City. Johnny uses the latest technology on his phone to arrange sex hook-ups, like one with a sexy gas station attendant (porn star Jake Steel), much to Michael and Ted’s annoyance. Reaching Amish country, nerves are getting frayed and the boys end up at a sleazy motel that Norman Bates would love. Even in the middle of nowhere, however, as soon as Johnny gets a signal, he gets another instant message from a man with a hot torso photo inviting Johnny to a bar called The Lion’s Den. After convincing his unsuspecting pals to go with him, they find that the ominously-named bar is a redneck haven with no sign of a gay nightlife.

What happens next plunges the trio into a depraved scene right out of a Saw movie with a sexual twist. Director Dan Lantz pulls no punches either in the sexy early scene at the gas station or in the dungeon scenes later in the film. This approach gives the film a realistic feeling that will make you think twice before meeting someone over the internet. Archer gives another good performance as a past-his-prime party boy, and the handsome Kroell (Eating Out: Drama Camp) is suitably hunky. Griffith is the weak link in the cast, and his monologue at the end of the film is unintentionally funny. Despite some cheesy acting and low budget production values, Into the Lion’s Den is a taut and entertaining thriller for any fans of exploitation movies.


Trigger(Wolfe Video):
Envisioned as a My Dinner With Andre-style film about two estranged band members reuniting after many years, Trigger turned out to be female lead Tracy Wright’s brave final film before she succumbed to pancreatic cancer. Wright and Molly Parker play the two former members of Trigger, a popular Canadian alternative rock band. After a dramatic fight the band broke up, but now the two women will have to reunite for a benefit concert. Vic (Wright) and Kat (Parker) meet in a restaurant and, like My Dinner With Andre, the two spend the evening talking and confronting old demons. If you are not up for a film rooted in dialogue instead of action, you won’t want to pull this Trigger.

Hold Your Peace(QC Cinema):
The bad thing about LGBT films is that because they are for a niche audience, sometimes bad acting and even worse writing pops up without warning, ruining an otherwise great premise. As far as a gift goes, Hold Your Peace is the perfect lump of coal to drop in some deserving ex’s stocking!


Riding a wave of films dealing with same-sex marriage, Hold Your Peace tells the story of Aiden (Chad Ford), a hapless single guy who is invited to be the best man at his ex-boyfriend’s commitment ceremony. What’s a guy to do? Why, bring his gal pal’s vacuous twink friend and pass him off as your boyfriend, of course. But, what could have been an entertaining premise full of great potential is done in by poor casting and a ridiculous ending that has to be seen to be believed. Despite its shortcomings, Hold Your Peace manages to raise a lot of interesting conflicts that everyone can relate to, such as how to deal with unresolved feelings for your ex, and what to do when his new boyfriend is gorgeous and apparently perfect.

Of the cast, only Blair Dickens as Forrest, the new beau, comes off as natural and engaging. Ford has no charisma and looks constipated throughout of the film, and handsome Tyler Brockington as Max the ex is so wooden, IKEA could build a bookshelf out of him. Scott Higgins, as the flamboyant Lance a.k.a. Brick, is the worst actor of all, taking a stereotypical role and making it worse with terrible line readings and a smarmy presence. You will wonder if writer/director Wade McDonald ran out of film when, after a long lead up to the nuptials, the film is wrapped up in a jaw-dropping ten seconds at the end. Hold Your Peace will definitely make you hold your nose.

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

In the 30 years since the AIDS crisis first reared its ugly head, it seems some people have forgotten what it was all about, how the LGBT community reacted then and how it changed the way we live and are more accepted today.  In the moving documentary We Were Here (now in select theaters and premiering today on Pay-Per-View and Video on Demand), filmmaker David Weissman and the four people who are interviewed on camera insist that people remember.

We Were Here pieces together what life was like in the Castro District of San Francisco in the '80s and early '90s as people first became terrified of the nameless afflictions that were killing formerly healthy men so quickly, then became angry as the government seemed content to let the disease run its course unabated through the gay community. It was before many people can remember, but there was a time when people like Lyndon LaRouche and Jerry Falwell were pushing legislation to quarantine people with AIDS and fought to stigmatize them at their most vulnerable time. Mostly, We Were Here shows how the LGBT community came together to help one another and fight for a cure.


People like nurse Eileen Glutzer, who is featured in the film, were among the few who would go into the rooms of AIDS patients and offer them care and love, when even her coworkers refused to do so out of fear of the disease. The other three people interviewed are men who lived through the disease and watched as more than 15,000 people died in San Francisco alone.

Despite its somber subject matter, We Were Here (which was recently named a finalist for next year's Academy Awards) is must-see viewing for everyone in the LGBT community. It is a powerful rallying cry to fight for the rights and protections we deserve. It also shows how different groups in our community can pull together in times of need, like the women's community, which provided life-saving blood drives in the Castro when gay men were prohibited from donating when the need was so great.

Times have changed and HIV is no longer a death sentence, but it is vital to remember the past so that it isn't repeated.

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

With the holidays fast approaching, here are some new books that would make great gifts for all the cinematically inclined on your list... or yourself!

For the sci-fi fan: Filled with enough facts and figures on the creation of one of the most popular science fiction movies of all time to weigh down the Nostromo, Alien Vault: The Definitive Story of the Making of the Film(Ian Nathan, Voyageur Press) is a must have for all Alien aficiandos. The weighty tome features director Ridley Scott’s own annotated storyboards, Polaroids and script pages; the elegant but disturbing concept artwork of H.R. Giger; costume designs by Moebius; and ten meticulously reproduced artifacts, enclosed in vellum envelopes, for readers to remove and examine more closely.

For the Twi-hard: Blood-suckers on screen are all the rage of late, so it's not surprising that a fourth edition of Alain Silver and James Ursini's The Vampire Film(Limelight Editions) was unearthed earlier this year. Now subtitled "From Nosferatu to True Blood", this newly updated and expanded volume contains an enclycopedic listing of vampire movies and television programs and is chock-full of full color (mostly red) photos. The book is structured thematically, incorporating vampire films of all eras into chapters on vampire lore, male and female vampires, Dracula, and more.


For the aspiring screenwriter: If you think Hollywood films can be formulaic, screenwriter and film fanatic Todd Klick proves it in his new book Something Startling Happens: The 120 Story Beats Every Writer Needs to Know(Michael Wiese Productions). A "how to" guide on how to write the next great screenplay, Klick does a minute-by-minute breakdown of classic and contemporary films to reveal the story telling technique that drives great movies, from Star Wars to Tootsie to The Six Sense to The Godfather. "Good movies do the exact same thing, across the board, in succession, during each and every minute. Doesn't matter if it's minute 1 or minute 101. Even if one movie ends at minute 85 and the next ends at 120, they still abide by this strict, minute-by-minute blueprint," says Klick.


For the classics connoisseur: Chronicling the 50 newest titles added to the National Film Registry in the past two years, Daniel Eagan's Americas Film Legacy: 2009-2010(Continuum Books) shines the spotlight on such favorites as Dog Day Afternoon, Grey Gardens, The Muppet Movie and Pillow Talk, as well as such lesser-known gems as Lonesome, Precious Images and Quasi at the Quackadero.

And speaking of the NFR, their 2012 Movie Poster Wall Calendar(Universe Publishing) is also available. Next year's edition includes poster art for such classics as It's a Wonderful Life, The Invisible Man, The Maltese Falcon, North by Northwest, Singin' in the Rain and The Wizard of Oz.

Click on the links above to order these books from Amazon.com.

Let yourself go, relax. You aren’t going to have to solve math logarithms when you see Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, now on national tour. All you have to do is dream of a snowy holiday in Vermont where two Broadway hoofers woo a couple of sisters and try to save a old friend’s Inn. You won’t see Bing Crosby, but then again, why would you want to? No one can replace Bing, so the makers of this seasonal hit don’t even try. What they do try to do is recreate the 1954 classic film on stage complete with its great music like “Let Yourself Go”, “Blue Skies”, “Sisters” and of course the title song. If we are lucky, the inimitable Ruth Williamson (Nip/Tuck, La Cage Aux Folles) will recreate her Broadway role, since she is one of Broadway’s true divas.

Brandon Davidson is happy to be a part of the show for the fourth year in a row. “It’s like an old family getting together and we’re going to do this Christmas show,” he explained. The youngest of six kids, Davidson grew up in beautiful San Diego. “I’m the only one who moved away,” he laughed. He received his BFA in Musical Theatre from Boston Conservatory, which then presented an annual showcase for New York casting directors. “So the program basically dumps you right into Times Square,” he joked. He’s lived in New York City since 2005.

“The reason I love this show so much is the choreography and the music. The second show I saw in New York was 42nd Street which was choreographed by Randy Skinner, who is the choreographer for White Christmas, and his style is inspired by Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire and that old world musical theater style. I grew up listening to jazz and the show is set in the fifties, so to be able to live in that world and dance that style again... I have a real passion for that style. It’s very American and rooted in jazz.”


Since the show is set in a Broadway milieu where two friends try to save their commanding general’s inn by putting on a show, the ensemble has lots of opportunities to shine. “The opening number, “Let Yourself Go” is a blast. It’s like being shot out of a cannon. It’s about seven minutes long and it’s a tap number. My favorite number in the show is when Betty sings, “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me”. It’s her “eleven o’clock number” and it is set in a Broadway cabaret, so it has that mood about it. She has three dancers who partner her one-by-one, and I am one of those dancers. It’s very emotionally based because she’s just been through sort of a break-up, and I think that Randy’s work and his intuition as a choreographer really shines in this number. “

Davidson also works as a house manager for Broadway shows, including the New York Musical Theater Festival, the showcase that launched [title of show], Altar Boyz, Next To Normal, Yank! and The Great American Trailer Park Musical. The show that he expects to see share that kind of success is Kiki Baby. Starring Broadway favorite Jenn Colella as the title character, a four year old who is gifted with an angelic voice, Kiki Baby tells the story of how she is exploited by her mother and needy neighbors in 1931 Germany.

Interview by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

The past twelve years haven’t been kind to the fluffy, felty band of misfit marionettes known collectively as the Muppets. In the dozen or so years since their last big screen outing (the underrated Muppets from Space), they have been relegated to fast food commercials and shoddy made-for-TV movies (Muppetphiles were hard-pressed to decide which was worse, It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie or The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz).

All that can now be forgotten (if not quite forgiven) with this past weekend’s release of their new hit movie, simply titled The Muppets. And while it doesn’t reach the Muppetational greatness of The Muppet Movie or The Great Muppet Caper, The Muppets does serve as an entertaining reintroduction of Kermit and Company to today’s audiences...

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of The Muppets at LaughingPlace.com.

Oscar nominated actor Ralph Fiennes, best known as the villainous Voldemort in the Harry Potter series, makes an impressive directorial debut with Coriolanus (opening today in Los Angeles and New York City for awards consideration and going wide in January). This modernized adaptation of one of Shakespeare's least-known plays is nothing if not timely for its provocative examination of how those in power manipulate the masses, at least until the masses get wise to them.

Fiennes also stars and gives a fierce, award-worthy performance as the title Roman general. In the wake of his military victory over the Volscians, led by sworn enemy Tullus Aufidius (300's Gerard Butler), Caius Martius "Coriolanus" is promoted by Rome's Senate to the powerful position of Consul. He initially secures the required consent of the Roman populace despite his prickly personality and thinly-veiled contempt for "the rabble." But when Coriolanus's political enemies expose and inflame his absolutist convictions, the public not only withdraws its support but votes for Coriolanus's banishment.


The enraged, humiliated general subsequently seeks out the Volscians and their leader and proposes an alliance against Rome. Surprisingly, Tullus Aufidius receives his former enemy warmly and something of a bromance begins between them. Alas, things don't end so well for the pair; Coriolanus is one of Shakespeare's tragedies, after all.

Not unlike other works by the Bard, Coriolanus contains its share of homoerotic elements. This is especially apparent in the devotion the Volscian troops show their new co-leader, shaving their heads to appear like him, toning their bodies and stripping down to tank tops. Fiennes and Butler make a potent combination physically as well as in their mastery of Shakespeare's prose, although Butler's Scottish brogue sometimes makes his lines difficult to understand.

Otherwise, screenwriter John Logan's savvy, streamlined approach to the source material makes Coriolanus easily accessible to movie audiences. The story largely plays out on big-screen televisions, cell phones and the Internet, and the military hardware employed is decidedly Bush-era. Those who have been following the "Occupy" movement will easily find relevant the rallying cry of those opposed to Coriolanus and the Senate: "The people are the city!" As the 99% continue to rise up today against the power-wielding minority, Shakespeare's work proves to be not only poetic but prophetic.



Fiennes' amazing supporting cast includes Vanessa Redgrave (giving her best film performance in years as the general's ruthless mother), Brian Cox and actress-of-the-moment Jessica Chastain, who won the New York Film Critics award for Best Supporting Actress earlier this week for her turns in The Tree of Life, The Help and Take Shelter. Director of Photography Barry Ackroyd effectively utilizes the same combination of hand-held cameras and sweeping vista shots he did in The Hurt Locker.

Coriolanus is challenging, as all Shakespeare is nowadays to increasingly untrained ears. It likely won't be a big hit at the box office but could reap some significant nominations if not awards and go down as one of the better modern interpretations of his work.

Reverend's Rating: B+

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.