Yeah, these reviews make me look like I’ve finally drunk the Kool-Aid and was sucked into the Hollywood machine. But don’t worry; I’m just as grumpy as ever. It’s just been a particularly fun couple of weeks. As always, clicky for the fully reviews!

Movie Review: Searching for Sugar Man

A brilliant singer/songwriter releases an album that becomes huge, making him a legend.  Then he seemingly disappears from the face of the earth, amid rumors of violent suicide.  Years later a few fans try to figure out what happened.  No, it’s not Eddie and the Cruisers.  This is Searching for Sugar Man, and it’s a true story.  Oh yeah, and the music is even better.  That this film is an achievement in real-life storytelling is no surprise; producers John Battsek (Restrepo) and Simon Chinn (Man On Wire) know how to pull us heart and soul into a true story.  It’s no different here.

The 1970s.  Tons of amazing music, tons of different types of music.  In the crush of bands and genres enters Rodriguez, a man whose raw, insightful songs draw the attention of record industry folk.  He releases a record, then another…but never seems to break into the big time.  He shifts back into the day-to-day world and becomes just another guy in Detroit, working for a living.

Movie Review: ParaNorman

Norman looks like he’s made to see the dead; with his shocked-up hair and big blue eyes, it seems he’s only waiting to get the bejeezus scared out of him.  Funny thing though, he ain’t afraid o’ no ghosts.  In fact, he seems downright bored with the life-challenged among us.  But when a centuries-old curse comes back to wreak havoc on Norman’s little town 300 years after town elders put to death an infamous witch, who they gonna call?

I’ve seen the teaser trailers for ParaNorman, and they look like the most awesomly cool bad-acid trip ever in the history of ever.  So with that in mind, I headed to the local taqueria for a martarita (or two).  I’m a professional y’all.  I needn’t have bothered; ParaNorman is a wild, funny ride for kids and adults.  No really.  If you’re into spooky fun, or you have little ones that are, this film is gonna be a treat that’s right up their darky, shadowy alley.  Think of this as a bit of fun in the vein (see what I did there?) of R.L. Stine…but with an emphasis on fun rather than “gotcha”.  And for you stop-motion fans out there (and really, who isn’t?)  The film is an absolutely breathtaking example of the genre.

Movie Review: Sparkle

Sparkle is a reboot of a 1976 film starring Irene Cara (Fame), about the struggles a singer goes through in her quest to become a star.  This new version takes the story and gives it a few well deserved tweaks here and there, breathing new life into the film and giving the actors something to really sink their teeth into.

It’s 1968, and Sparkle (Jordin Sparks) is a girl who, like many other girls, writes in her notebook whenever she’s got something to say.  But unlike most, her writings are amazing songs that show real talent.  But she doesn’t believe that she’s got what it takes to perform, so she asks her sister, Sister (Carmen Ejogo, Away We Go) to get up on stage instead.  Beautiful and self assured, Sister brings the house down.  A music scout named Stix (Derek Luke, Antwone Fisher) sees the performance and persuades them to form a group with their other sister Dee (Tika Sumpter, Gossip Girl), Sister & the Sisters.  Only problem is, mama Emma (Whitney Houston) is a Church Lady of the highest order; this isn’t gonna fly with her.  But the girls sneak out and become a sensation…trouble is, bright lights and fame comes with a dark side.  At least they get to rock some seriously amazing costumes (from the brilliant Oscar-nominated designer Ruth E. Carter, of Amistad, Malcolm X and Serenity).

Movie Review: The Odd Life of Timothy Green

The Odd Life of Timothy Green is a wonderful fairy tale for parents, would-be parents, and folks who wanna be parents.  And if you’re fine with talk of parenthood, kids and the struggle many have to become parents, you’ll enjoy this sweet story.  Good work, Disney, for coming up with a fairy tale for grownups.

Cindy (Jennifer Garner, with a fantastic Small Town Chic wardrobe) and Jim Green (Joel Edgerton) have done just about everything they possibly can in order to become parents.  Unfortunately, the good ol’ fashioned way isn’t in the stars for them.  So one night, over many glasses of wine, they draw up a “dream list” of things they’d love to see in the child they’ll never have.  What starts off as tearful ends up as a joyful (and drunken) riot of cheering, laughing and bittersweet wishing.  They put the list in an old cigar box and bury it in their garden, thinking they’ve closed the door on that chapter of their lives.  Surprise!  In a freak rainstorm that only seems to drench their yard, they find that they’re not alone; a muddy child has found his way into their home.  A child named Timothy — Cindy and Jim’s dream-list name — that calls them Mom and Dad.  There’s a hole in the garden where the cigar box used to be, and the kid has leaves on his ankles.  Guess the old “cabbage patch” tale could be true….

Movie Review: Hope Springs

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always To be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin’d from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

– Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man

Hope Springs, the movie where Tommy Lee Jones just says no to Meryl Streep.  Is the man insane?  Well, in a world where “Grey Divorce” rates are climbing, a film that looks at longstanding relationships is definitely a timely one.  Luckily, Hope Springs is buoyed by brilliant performances by it’s leads and a script that doesn’t pull any punches.  It’s a wonderful look at the ins and outs of a couple that has spent over 30 years together and still have a relationship worth rooting for.

Movie Review: Total Recall

First off, I never saw the 1990 original. Yeah, I know. But there it is. So I am going to crank through this movie as a newbie to the story. No, the ending hasn’t been spoiled for me, and I am as shocked as you that I’ve managed to miss that all these years.

What I do know: the original Total Recall is about a huge steroidal dude who may or may not be a killer/spy/Bad MoFo. But at the start of the film he is just a schmo that has always wanted to visit Mars. (It’s the future, so that’s a thing.) Since our schmo doesn’t have the money to actually go to Mars, he visits Total Rekall, a place that can remember it for you, wholesale (shout out to  Philip K. Dick short story that these films are based on). But our hero has what can be graciously called an atypical experience, and soon it’s a hunt for what’s real and what isn’t. Oh yeah, there’s an alien chick with three boobs and the world’s most permanent divorce.

How does this re-imagining stack up to the little I know about the first film?

Movie Review: Ruby Sparks

Pygmalion.  My Fair Lady.  Born Yesterday.  Pretty Woman.  Trading Places.  She’s All That.  The the original Pygmalion myth — and it’s themes of personal identity and the perils of idolizing something you’ve created — has been a go-to story for ages.  You’d think there wouldn’t be a single new way to spin it, but Ruby Sparks manages to breathe life (ahem) into this classic story.  While it may be more fairy tale than fable, the Ruby Sparks can proudly stand beside the best of these re-interpretations thanks to a brilliant performance and screenplay by Zoe Kazan (It’s Complicated) and a skilled touch by co-directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine).