Top Movies Hit-Lists

‘Mother and Child’, a poignant ‘slice of life’ story of rediscovery

“Mother and Child” is presented in the allegory style made famous by the sensational Oscar® winning movie ‘Crash’ (2005) where independent stories are destined to have their characters’ lives become interrelated. Is it destiny, fate, or simply, a fact of life.

The drama centers on three women… There’s Elizabeth (Naomi Watts), a smart and successful lawyer. She uses her sex appeal for control, like starting a romance with her boss (Samuel L. Jackson) when she suspects he has his eye on her, or controlling her way too friendly neighbor and her husband (Carla Gallo and Marc Blucas).

We also meet Karen (Annette Bening) a health care professional who has a lot of heart but never shows it. She gave up a daughter at the age of 14 and has never gotten over it. Her bitterness at that choice so many years ago, has her maintaining an aloofness to everyone around her, even the gentle man at work who is undeniably drawn to her (Jimmy Smits).

And there’s Lucy (Kerry Washington) an African American wife, who can’t have children of her own and uses a heavy ‘psychological’ hand with her husband (David Ramsey) to aggressively pursue adoption to make the family she desires.

Although the story follows three women, the overview of what each is experiencing and trying to cope with, is truly genderless. And the breath taking and teary final sequence demonstrates how the influences of the three women come full circle makes us realize, as we are all living separate lives, just how interconnected living life can be…

The Spy Next Door

Does anyone else miss the days of Rumble in the Bronx? Police Story? You know, when Jackie Chan could, or was, allowed to still do stunts? I thought so. Unfortunately, those days are long since passed, and now Jackie Chan movies are just lame hollow shells of something that can never be again.
You can’t really blame Jackie for doing a kid’s movie like The Spy Next Door, his latest American-made film that is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray. After all, he’s getting older but still enjoys making movies, even if his fighting skills can no longer cover up his much-to-be-desired acting skills. And besides, the same approach has helped extend the careers of Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson in the past.
The Spy Next Door has a plot that, practically, is as simple as the title suggests. Next door neighbor Bob (Chan) agrees to watch his girlfriend’s three kids for the weekend in hope that he’ll win their approval. They can’t stand him because they think he’s just a dorky pen salesman, but in reality he’s an undercover spy. Of course, his Russian adversaries eventually come looking for him and he has to save his future family from certain death.
The plot is pretty inane, but then again it’s no more so than many of Jackie’s best movies. Unfortunately, the movie is made for kids, and director Brian Levant apparently thinks that kids have extremely low standards. The script is awful and is painfully unfunny, primarily thanks to incredibly bad performances by Billy Ray Cyrus and George Lopez. They alone make you question how seriously – even for a kid’s movie – Levant took the production of the movie.
The action isn’t bad for a PG-rated film such as this, but you would think kids would enjoy a higher level of Jackie’s antics, even if they don’t involve massive stunts. But even Jackie’s hand-to-hand stunts lack originality, and to lighten the mood Levant ruins nearly every action sequence with cheesy, playful music.
Despite its massive shortcomings, The Spy Next Door does survive on Jackie’s presence, as watered down as it is. As bad as most of the supporting cast is, the child actors do an adequate job and their chemistry with Jackie is sound. Still, compared to other movies like this (say, The Pacifier or The Game Plan), the jokes and comic timing of the leads are off kilter more often than not.
The Spy Next Door feels like a cheap cash grab, which it is, but the family film is mildly enjoyable at times. Jackie is able to bring some energy to what otherwise is a flat production, though there are certainly more entertaining movies for kids out there. Frankly, considering most Jackie Chan movies are not very dark to begin with, most kids would likely find some of his classics funnier and more entertaining than this one. Nonetheless, The Spy Next Door is at least better than Jackie’s other recent American productions, though being better than The Tuxedo doesn’t say a whole lot.

Robin Hood

You can dress it up or throw mud in its eye, but the enduring appeal of the Robin Hood legend is simple: treachery bested by archery.

The other night, Turner Classic Movies aired the evergreen 1938 classic “The Adventures of Robin Hood” (Errol Flynn in staggering three-strip Technicolor, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley) and followed up with the first screen version of the Sherwood Forest legend I ever saw, as well as the sourest Robin Hood film yet made.

I speak of “Robin and Marian” (1976), starring Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn, depicted in James Goldman’s screenplay as uneasily reunited middle-age lovers striving for a graceful retreat from a ceaselessly cruel world.

What strikes me about the new “Robin Hood,” directed by Ridley Scott, is how its preoccupations and sensibilities lie almost precisely halfway between the derring-do of the 1938 film and the harsh revisionism of the ’70s edition.

The latest big-screen version of the outlaw myth marks the fifth collaboration between Scott and producer-star Russell Crowe. They made “Gladiator” a decade ago. If stylistic overlaps exist between that film and this one, well, no mystery: Crowe’s fellow producer Brian Grazer is quoted by the film’s production notes as saying, “If we were going to make this film, it had to be the ‘Gladiator’ version of ‘Robin Hood.’”

I wonder if 15-year-olds who just came out of “Iron Man 2″ will have much interest in the movie’s paradoxically dour swagger, its recasting of Robin Hood as the linchpin to key Middle Ages historical events. Whatever. I liked it. It’s on a par with Scott’s “American Gangster”: No revelations, but a satisfying, large-scale genre movie, toned up by its cast.

It’s an origin myth, a prequel to the Robin of legend, commonly associated with merry men and robbing from the rich and such. The action begins after the Third Crusade led by Richard the Lionheart (Danny Huston) has run its crimson course. Robin, named Robin Longstride, excels as an archer in King Richard’s army, which hacks its way in retreat across France in the opening melee. For some, the big opening will work because it accomplishes what Scott and screenwriter Brian Helgeland intended: to give the movie a big opening. For others, it’ll be pure chaos.

“Calm and careful,” Crowe tells a fellow archer at one point. “Make it count.” The advice seems at odds with the direction. At times you long for the man who made “The Duellists” and “Alien” a generation ago, when a director chose to establish a shot and actually hold it for a few seconds.

After the blur of the first half-hour, “Robin Hood’s” rangy story begins to take shape. Assuming a dead nobleman’s identity, Robin carries the crown of the late king to Eleanor of Aquitaine (Eileen Atkins). Fulfilling his fallen comrade’s last request, he then delivers the late nobleman’s sword to his widow and father, played by Cate Blanchett and Max von Sydow. Marion is nobody’s maid or miss: She’s tough as nails and quick with a zinger, and only reluctantly does Blanchett’s Marion agree to a financially expedient plan in which Robin will pretend, “Martin Guerre”-style, to be her long-gone husband.

Crowe’s performance, technically immaculate, is taciturn to the point of being a bit flat, yet there’s really nobody else you’d want in the role. Like Crowe, Blanchett’s acting has a natural period sense, though the love story gets some serious narrative competition in Helgeland’s other concerns. He juggles scarcely fewer storylines and intrigues than he did in “L.A. Confidential.”

Though Robin’s band of outlaw brothers provides boisterous comic relief, there’s not much merriment in the picture. When director Scott storms a castle, he wants you to feel the danger and the thwwwunnnch of the arrow entering flesh. The panoramic computer-generated landscapes are miles ahead of anything in “Gladiator.” Robin’s arrival in London on the late king’s ship, for example, shows how CG can be used for cinematic-historical good as opposed to digital evil. The climactic battle with France’s King Philip has Robin essentially waging war against all England’s enemies, from within and without. As history, it’s silly. As entertainment, it works.

Sex and the City 2

Mood swings similar to those experienced by menopausal Samantha are a common side effect of exposure to Sex and the City 2. Two and a half hours (!) spent in the company of fortysomething Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte York-Goldenblatt (Kristin Davis), and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), and fiftysomething Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) takes a toll: The experience of listening to the girls complain about their fairy-tale lives from the comfort of an all-expenses-paid luxury vacation in the Arabian desert may leave a viewer feeling by turns nostalgic, disoriented, and impatient.

Don’t worry. This is a normal response to revisiting an essence-of-1990s-NYC experience and seeing it through 2010 eyes. And it’s a natural reaction given that, in turning the blinged-out foursome into garish caricatures of their already outlandish selves, it seems the producers are just not that into us.

Once upon a time, Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha represented an 
 extravagant (white) fantasy of sophisticated city-that-never-sleeps sisterhood. They were Manolo’d ambassadors from a world of Manhattan glamour and cosmos who, underneath their finery, were recognizable as real types of women in an American urban world. Now? Well, the friends still look porelessly fine. And I’m delighted that, in an antidote to recession frugality, their wardrobe budget hasn’t taken a hit. But in SATC2, whether the topic is gay marriage discussed at the over-the-top wedding of Carrie’s Best Gay Friend (Willie Garson) to Charlotte’s own BGF (Mario Cantone), or gender roles in the complicated United Arab Emirate of Abu Dhabi explored on a camel, the conversation has been reduced to a string of quips. ”It’s Bedouin, Bath & Beyond!” Carrie chirps about amenities in a luxurious desert oasis. ”Lawrence of my labia!” Samantha purrs — ewww! — about an attractive man observed driving across the dunes. Writer-director Michael Patrick King compulsively jams pun after groaner pun into the script, tipping 
 the ladies’ lifestyles and life issues perilously into cartoon territory done better by Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley on BBC’s Absolutely Fabulous.

Three of the four have uninteresting but reasonable problems: Charlotte is upset that motherhood is hard; Miranda is upset that she’s unappreciated at work; Samantha is upset that she can’t outrun menopause. The fourth takes the cupcake: Carrie is upset because she’s got everything, including marriage to Big (Chris Noth), a new book, and a humongous closet, and now she’s… what? Spoiled and bored, we can’t help but think. (”Is this because I’m a bitch wife who nags you?” Carrie wheedles when Big asks for some space; at the screening I attended, the audience answered aloud, Yes.)

Yet with the exception of Miranda (who, honestly, is far too mature and engaged in the world to still hang with these me-me-me gals), not one of the fashion fiends lifts her head out of her luggage to get a clue. While Miranda reads up on Abu Dhabi and learns to speak basic courtesies in Arabic, Charlotte scrambles like an American maniac in search of clear cell-phone reception. Samantha is still at it with the horny shtick: She insults her hosts as she rails against not being allowed to dress as trampy as she wants. Carrie still can’t get over the awful fact that, while she gave Big an expensive vintage wristwatch for their second anniversary, he gave her a high-end flat-screen TV installed in their bedroom so they could watch old black-and-white movies together. Together. As if the gesture were an insult rather than an offer to share something, anything, other than nights out on the town.

It’s of passing interest to note that all the male characters who make return visits — including John Corbett as Carrie’s ex, David Eigenberg as Miranda’s husband, Evan Handler as Charlotte’s husband, and Jason Lewis as Samantha’s actor boy-toy — are so nice and mild and understanding and accommodating that they fade into invisibility. SATC2 doesn’t have time to follow any relationships other than those among Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, Miranda, and their suitcases full of costumer Patricia Field’s caftan-themed creations. As Carrie might type on her laptop while giving one of her girly little shrugs, When did Sex and the City become so long and mean so little?

Who Is Loretta Claiborne?

A Brief Biography Of Special Olympics Runner Loretta Claiborne

Loretta Claiborne is a partially blind and mildly mentally challenged Special Olympics marathon runner who has been decorated with awards, accolades and honors. She has won ESPN’s ESPY Arthur Ashe Award for Courage (1996), had Disney produce a movie about her life (The Loretta Claiborne Story, 2000) and a book written about her experiences (In Her Stride, ETA/Cusineware). Claiborne still runs marathons and travels the world as a motivational speaker and Special Olympics activist.
A Brief Biography About Loretta Claiborne

Born the fourth of seven children in a low income single parent family, Loretta Claiborne struggled with walking and talking from an early age as she born partially blind. Yet although Claiborne didn’t speak or run until her fourth birthday, it wasn’t long until she discovered a love of running.

As a teen Loretta Claiborne was mocked for her special needs, and she describes herself as having been “angry” during that time frame, partially because of an expulsion from school and getting fired from one of her first jobs. A social worker by the name of Janet McFarland (played by Camyrn Manheim in The Loretta Claiborne Story) took Claiborne’s anger and channeled that energy into running. Suddenly, Claiborne found a way to excel, while still being true to her mischevious yet spiritual self.

Now in her fifties, Claiborne still runs five miles a day. She has finished more than 25 marathons, has run with the torch for the World Special Olympics, speaks four languages, holds a black belt in karate, and was awarded honorary doctorate degrees from both Quinnipiac College and Villanova University – a feat that, according to the Special Olympics committee, is an honor that has yet to be bestowed on any other Special Olympian.
Loretta Claiborne’s Achievements

As Ms. Claiborne is a highly decorated speaker and athlete, only the most notable of Loretta Claiborne’s achievements can be shared here.

* 2005: Topped off her fifth appearance in the World Special Olympic Games with a Silver in Figure Skating;
* 2001: Lit the Flame of Hope in Capetown, South Africa with Arnold Schwarzenegger, to increase the number of athletes in South Africa;
* 2000: Inducted into the Women in Sports Hall of Fame;
* 1998: Made an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show to promote the Special Olympics’ thirtieth anniversary;
* 1996: Won the ESPN ESPY Arthur Ashe Award for Courage;
* 1995: Honorably introduced former President Bill Clinton at the opening of the Special Olympics World Games;
* 1991: Given the honor by Runners World as being the Special Olympics Athlete of the Quarter Century;
* 1981: Awarded the Spirit of Special Olympics Award from then Vice President George Bush
* 1981: Became the first Special Olympics athlete to run the Boston Marathon.

Basic Details About The Loretta Claiborne Story Movie

Originally released on January 16, 2000 as a made-for-TV movie, The Loretta Claiborne Story has been shown on numerous television stations, most notably on Valentine’s Day 2010 just three days into the beginning of the Vancouver Olympic Games. The movie was nominated for an Eddie Award in 2001 by the American Cinema Editors but did not win. It was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but is billed as an American film. Runtime is 100 minutes total.