JUNO

Director: Jason Reitman

Stars: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons

Year: 2007

Rating: PG-13

The little film that could, Juno is a smart, sweet, and ultimately touching teen comedy that - mercifully - has more heart and humor and intelligence than 99% of all other "teen" films out there ... thanks to a wonderful script by Oscar-winner Diablo Cody, and a winning, Oscar-worthy performance by the film's lead, Ellen Page.

Juno MacGuff (Page) is a sixteen-year-old girl who rocks out in a wannabe band with her best friend - and maybe-boyfriend - Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera, in another winningly affecting performance). She's an average girl with an average life; an average teen still trying to figure out what life's all about and where she fits in with it.

When she and Bleeker finally get around to doing the deed, however, that life goes a bit awry when Juno soon learns she's pregnant. The solution is a no-brainer - an abortion - but when she gets to the clinic Juno realizes she can't go through with it, and instead makes the bold decision - on her own, without any help or advice (which is how Juno does everything) - to instead have her baby, and then adopt it out to a couple who will love it and care for it in a way a sixteen-year-old girl cannot.

Juno does, in fact, line up the couple - Vanessa and Mark Loring (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) - through an ad in the local penny-saver newspaper (swear to God) before she even breaks the news to her dad and step-mom (J.K. Simmons, Allison Janney). Mac, Juno's dad, takes Juno to meet the couple, and the papers are drawn up for a legal adoption that will give the childless Lorings - who've been trying to conceive for five years, with no luck - the baby they've been wanting at last.

The bulk of the film deals with Juno's pregnancy, and how that pregnancy affects the lives of her, Bleeker, her family, and the Lorings - most of which seen through the eyes of Juno, who while playing so street smart has an undeniable innocence and naivete inside her, you can't help but love the girl. Page's performance is what gives the film its core, but the ensemble cast surrounding her is just as talented - and funny, delivering Diablo Cody's smart dialogue to perfection. This is a warm, small film with a big heart that went out into the world with a whimper - and immediately became one of the most successful, best-loved films of the year.

And deservedly so. Juno is funny and intelligent, touching and humane - and one of the best, most realistic films about teenagers ever made. ****1/2 - Reel Awesome-Reel Must-See

CAPOTE

Director: Bennett Miller

Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Clifton Collins Jr., Chris Cooper, Bruce Greenwood, Mark Pellegrino

Year: 2005

Rating: R

Like Sean Penn in Milk, Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance in Capote is more a transformation - a channeling, it seems, of the soul of the real-life man into the body of the actor portraying him. Even as I typed in the names of the stars of this film above, I got all six names entered, along with director and year and rating, before I realized I'd typed "Truman Capote" where Hoffman's name should have been.

That is how strong his performance is in this brilliant, disturbing, yet lyrically beautiful film.

Capote doesn't chronicle the entire life of the celebrated, quirky writer of Breakfast at Tiffany's - but rather, the period of his life when Truman Capote became obsessed with the case of a farm family's murder in rural Kansas. Searching for the topic of his next book, Capote happens on an article in the New York Times about the crimes, and immediately flies to Kansas with his best friends Nelle (Catherine Keener) - who would soon become famous in her own right, after publishing To Kill a Mockingbird under the name "Harper Lee" a few years later. Nelle acts sort of as Capote's "interpreter" when the locals don't take too well to Truman's feminine manners and gentle voice, but soon both Nelle and Capote are let into the case, and even become friendly with the man investigating the crime, Alvin Dewey (Chris Cooper) and his family.

All the interviews and access to crime scene information help to begin formulating the book in Capote's mind, but everything becomes polarized when the pair of men accused of killing the Clutter family are caught and arrested ... and Capote becomes close, in particular, to one of them - a young man named Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.).

It's this relationship - and what lengths Capote will go to in his obsessive need to finish his new work - that drive the rest of the film. Capote gains the trust of Smith, even as he also betrays him, and the "friendship" they forge is such that viewers will at times both revel in and be repulsed by Capote and his methods and motives. Philip Seymour Hoffman's portrayal of the author is nothing short of astonishing - not only in his physical transformation but even in the heart and soul that emanates from him; there's not a false note in this performance, and you never see Hoffman but always see - feel - Capote. It's a stunning, moving and visceral portrayal that's one of the best performances every committed to film, in a movie that remains riveting and unforgettable from first frame to last.

In fact, my one and only complaint regarding Capote - and it's not even a complaint about the actual film - is that Clifton Collins Jr. was not nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor. Long one of my favorite actors, Collins is absolutely chameleon-like in ever role he plays, losing himself in the character. Here, as Perry Smith, he brings such a deep emotional core to the character of a killer, even as you know (and learn more about) what Smith did, at the same time you can't help but like and feel for the guy. It's a heartbreaking, fully-realized performance that deserved at least a nomination, if not the Oscar itself, and somehow Collins manages to always slip under the radar of being recognized as one of the finest actors working in film today - and you won't find any better example of his capabilities in this, a nearly perfect film. ***** - Reel Must-See

THE COVENANT

Director: Renny Harlin

Stars: Steven Strait, Laura Ramsey, Sebastian Stan, Taylor Kitsch, Chace Crawford, Toby Hemingway, Jessica Lucas

Year: 2006

Rating: PG-13

Having seen The Covenant in bits and pieces on cable, I finally sat down to watch the entire film from beginning to end - as I'm trying to catch up on my film-watching, anyway - and while the film is fun to watch and pretty to look at, overall it remains a fairly standard teenage witch tale ... only this time, the witches are guys.

The Sons of Ipswich (Massachusetts), in fact - a group of four overly-handsome (aren't they always?) teenaged young men (Steven Strait, Taylor Kitsch, Chace Crawford and Toby Hemingway) who go to the same exclusive prep school and are all direct descendants of the original Sons of Ipswich during the days of the Salem witch trials. Each is the eldest son of his generation, and as such at the age of thirteen began to develop supernatural powers that only continued to grow throughout his teenage years ... culminating in said young man's eighteenth birthday, when he will Ascend and his full powers will at last be granted and recognized.

The leader of this Lost Boys-like (except they're good guys, overall) pack is Caleb (Strait), whose more or less the leader because he will be the first to turn eighteen; the first to Ascend. But as Caleb gets closer to his big day, things start to get strange - a young fellow student is killed, and his ghost-like image projected onto a horrifying "darkling" that's sent to each of the four Sons to warn them of something; Caleb's new girlfriend, Sarah (Laura Ramsey), is stalked and terrified by someone (or something); and Sarah's roommate Kate (Jessica Lucas) is cursed with an ancient and deadly spell that has her hovering close to death.

Caleb, trying to put things together, has figured that perhaps there is a fifth Son of Ipswich, after all. There were five families, total, back in 1692, and it was said that the fifth family had died out during the trials. But a trip to the school records office with Pogue (Kitsch) convinces Caleb that the fifth son has arrived - and seeking either revenge, or to gain the power of the other Sons (a power that already is know to deteriorate the body and mind, if overused) as his own, making him the most powerful of all.

Cool premise - so-so execution. The cast is young, fresh, talented, and the men especially make for great eye candy. The sets, production values, and special effects are not big budget, but make for nice atmosphere and set the proper mood.

No, it's simply the execution of the story that fails a bit here. Not enough is explained or gone into about the history of the Sons of Ipswich, or indeed any of the characters. The plot, likewise, is under-developed. And the ending "battle" (such as it is), after a whole lot of build up to it, ends up being little more than a display of powers that showcases little more than the good guy and bad guy throwing each other through walls or windows, or telekinetically throwing a bunch of stuff at each other. It's a real disappointment, because by the time it happens you're SO ready for a knock-down, drag-out, all-hell-breaking-loose fight instead ...

And sadly, this weak finale is exactly what ends the film on a mediocre note, when one feels it could perhaps have been so much more. Not a bad film - but not a great film by any means. Maybe a nice distraction for a rainy day, or when nothing else on Neftlix looks good. **1/2 - Reel Mediocre-Reel Cool

THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT

Director: Raoul Walsh

Stars: George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart, Gale Page, Alan Hale

Year: 1940

Rating: N/A

A classic melodrama with a stellar, star-making performance by Ida Lupino, They Drive by Night was also Humphrey Bogart's last supporting role; after this film, he was fast bumped up to the lead in subsequent films and on his way to becoming a film legend.

George Raft stars here, as Joe Fabrini - who, with his brother Paul (Bogart), are long-haul truck drivers working long hours for a shady boss, hoping to one day save up enough money to be able to work for themselves. They drive a truck they're behind in payments on, and never have any money thanks to a boss who's behind in paying them ... but soon get him to pay, at which time they pay off their truck and finally start buying their own loads, trying to make it a go on their own.

But when a bad accident leaves the truck destroyed and the brothers without an income, Joe takes a job garage manager job at the company of old buddy Ed Carlsen (Alan Hale) - who, unfortunately, has a scheming, social-climbing wife named Lana (Lupino) ... who has been hell-bent, since meeting him, on climbing into an affair with Joe, as well.

Joe manages to dodge Lana, having no interest; he's fallen hard already, in fact, with former waitress Cassie Hartley (Ann Sheridan), and as soon as he can help his brother get back on his feet and set aside some money, he and Cassie plan to marry.

But what he doesn't know is what lengths Lana will do to get him - and keep him. And boy, do things get ugly when he learns.

The film benefits greatly from Ida Lupino as Lana, who comes dangerously close to melodrama with her performance ... yet never quite steps over that edge. She's amazing here, in a role originally written with Bette Davis in mind (and it shows) - and after years in small roles at small studios, this was the film that made critics and fans alike truly discover her at last.

The ending of the film is too pat - a bit too "convenient" - but overall, They Drive by Night is a great melodrama featuring excellent performances ... especially by Lupino and Sheridan, whose acting chops in some scenes downright outshine their (mostly) testosterone-filled counterparts. *** - Reel Cool

Trailer: LAW ABIDING CITIZEN

Trailer: NINJA ASSASSIN

MARLEY & ME

Director: David Frankel

Stars: Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Eric Dane, Kathleen Turner, Alan Arkin

Year: 2008

Rating: PG

Above all else, Marley & Me is a love story. It might open with - and chronicle - the lives of newspaper writer John Grogan (Wilson) and his wife Jenny (Aniston), as they marry and create a life and family together ... all as John struggles to be taken seriously as a reporter ...

But at its heart (and anyone who's ever owned a dog should recognize this), the film is a love story between a man and his dog. A tearjerker, yes. Overly-long, maybe. Sentimental, definitely. But it's still a warmhearted tribute to the pains and pleasure of dog ownership - particularly for those who've ever had a dog that seemed impossible to control or train.

Owen Wilson, as John Grogan, turns in an effective performance that plays both the humor and heartstrings effectively. Soon after they marry and Jennifer secures herself a job at a different newspaper, John manages to secure a writing position at the Sun-Sentinel, where a close friend and fellow reporter named Sebastian (Eric Dane, in a nice, understated departure from "Grey's Anatomy") helped him to get a foot in the door. It seems John's had his share of being a slacker in life, but has recently gotten his act together - mostly thanks to meeting Jenny - and his marriage and new job all offer him a great start to a new life. It's not the greatest job, but he can handle it, and even though he's a bit jealous of the hot, headline-grabbing assignments Sebastian gets, overall John is finally a happy man.

A couple years into their marriage, when Jenny first starts to get the bug to have children, Sebastian advises John to get Jenny a puppy instead. A puppy, he figures, will hone and nurture Jenny's mothering instincts until the couple can better afford to have children. So as a birthday surprise, John takes Jenny to a home breeder, and from a box of Labrador puppies she picks the "clearance puppy" - a lively blond ball of fur marked lower in price than all the others that takes to Jenny immediately. John names him Marley.

To say Marley's a handful is a gross understatement, and over the years - as John and Jenny do finally have kids, and John starts his own column that often observes life through his days with Marley - Marley seems to remain a lovable, uncontrollable dog who howls at thunderstorms, chews or eats (or just plain swallows) everything in sight, and terrorizes any babysitter that Jenny tries to get for the kids. The Grogans, early on, even try to take Marley to dog obedience school, run by the strict Ms. Kornblut (Kathleen Turner, in a funny near-cameo) - but is thrown out of the class within minutes after knocking down the teacher and humping her leg.

To say much more would be to potentially give away an ending that anyone over ten could probably seen coming ... and God knows there's not much actual plot to the film ... but nevertheless, the emotional impact and message of the story will still reverberate through your mind long after the credits roll. The cast is really good in the film - including Oscar-winner Alan Arkin, who plays John's boss at the Sun-Sentinel. But based on some of the negative "reviews" I've read about this film, I would say if you are watching it to see a light-hearted, goofy romantic comedy about a dog, just be warned that the light-hearted comedic touches are there ... but the film also has its dramatic touches, for sure - some of which might be hard for some to bear.

But all good love stories have both humor and heartbreak in them, and Marley & Me is no exception. As John Grogan says, late in the film: "A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart, and he will give you his."

And as any dog owner will tell you, amen to that. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome

PAUL BLART: MALL COP

Director: Steve Carr
Stars: Kevin James, Keir O'Donnell, Jayma Mays, Bobby Cannavale, Raini Rodriguez, Stephen Rannazzisi, Adhir Kalyan
Year: 2009
Rating: PG

Kind of sad, when a great and talented cast works their magic on a film that still turns out bad. Not awful, mind you. Just ... not good.

Kevin James, good on TV's "King of Queens," really dumbs it down here as both lead actor and co-writer, playing mall security guard Paul Blart. Paul's a lovable loser who's been kicked around by life since childhood; he currently lives, with his mom and young daughter Maya, in a small suburban home after his wife (who tricked him into marriage only to get a green card) ditch him and Maya some time ago. Always grabbing for the brass ring, Paul's tried multiple times to become a cop or state trooper - but in the end, always falls just short of making the grade, usually because his hypoglycemia causes him to pass out during the physical fitness endurance test. Settling instead - as he always has in life - Paul now works as a security guard in a local mall, and it's a job he takes as seriously as a secret service agent guarding the President. Good at his job, he's also a klutz and a simpleton, the brunt of jokes from everyone from his co-workers to a pen salesmen who works in the mall named Stuart (Rannazzisi). Even the young new recruit to the mall's security team, Veck Sims (Keir O'Donnell) just shakes his head in wonder as Paul bumbles and stumbles his way through training him.

But the holidays are coming, and in the midst of Paul's preparing for Black Friday - the busiest shopping day of the year - Paul is also getting pressure from his mother and daughter to start dating again. Sure enough, Paul's even found a beauty, working at one of the mall kiosks, that he's completely smitten by ... but Amy (Jayma Mays), while she likes Paul, is even turned off again during a night at a local restaurant/bar - when Paul, who never drinks, gets smashed and makes a complete ass of himself (in a WAY over-played scene) in front of Amy and other mall employees alike.

But on Black Friday (which also happens to be Amy's birthday), when the mall is besieged by high-tech criminals seeking to pull off a huge caper worth $30 million, and Amy ends up a hostage with about a half-dozen other people - it's up to Paul (who, through his own slacker personality, is the only other person left in the mall after the thieves empty it of customers) to save the day, rescue the hostages ... and show both Amy and the world that he's not such a loser, after all.

Kevin James is, at times, both endearing and incredibly annoying as Paul Blart; sometimes you want to hug him and say everything will be okay - but more often you'll want to reach through the screen and strangle him, thinking how could any be this stupid?! The script is mediocre at best, with characters sometimes doing things that make no sense in the context of the story, the comedy worthy more of chuckles here and there than outright laughter. The cast does the best with what they have, and even James makes Paul a good guy at heart - even if somewhat annoying at times. The ending is nothing unusual or clever, and can be seen from a mile away, and the direction of the film overall is fairly weak.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop the kind of film you might want to catch when late at night, and you're flipping through 152 channels with nothing else to watch ... but certainly not worth buying or even a rental, even with the really talented cast. A shame, because with that cast and a better script (and title), it might have been so much more. *1/2 - Get Reel-Reel Mediocre

Trailer: THE WOLFMAN

Trailer: James Cameron's AVATAR

HONEY AND CLOVER

Director: Masahiro Takada

Stars: Sho Sakurai, Yu Aoi, Yusuke Iseya, Ryo Kase, Megumi Seki

Year: 2006

Rating: N/A

(in Japanese w/English subtitles)

Honey and Clover, based on a simple premise (following the lives of five close friends as they deal with life and love at the same art school), is anything but simple in execution; based on a very popular manga and animated series in Japan, I've read/seen neither, so can only base my review on the film itself ... which I loved.

Sho Sakurai, of the insanely popular Japanese boy band Arashi, opens the film as Takemoto - a young, fairly naive and quiet art student who works part-time wearing the Disneyland-like costume of a famous anime character in Japan, standing outside a store to draw customers. Sakurai breathes full life and breath into Takemoto from the first few moments of the film as a romantic dreamer who wears his heart on his sleeves and his emotions in his gaze ... never more so than when he spots the niece of one of his teachers, Hagumi (Yu Aoi), for the first time after she's come to the school to study. You can almost see Takemoto fall in love with her on sight, just watching him; it's very touching, and forms the backbone for the film right off.

At the same time, the art school's star pupil, Morita (Yusuke Iseya), has come back to finish school after leaving for awhile to work and travel. Morita's somewhat of a celebrity at the art school, seen as a brilliant and eccentric painter/sculptor known as much for his off-the-wall personality as his is for his off-the-wall artwork. Takemoto is his dorm neighbor, and after seeing the state of his room Morita decides to stay with Takemoto for awhile instead ... a situation further complicated when Morita first meets Hagumi, and finds himself attracted to her as well - leaving Takemoto, who already feels like Morita's everything he could never be, feeling that much more inadequate.

Meanwhile, Ayumi (Megumi Seki) is a ceramics student with a deep crush on her close friend Mayama (Ryo Kase) - who, in turn, sees her sort of as "one of the guys" and instead is going through his own obsessive crush on his female boss at work - a crush that provides some good comic relief in the film, as Mayama often envisions himself being grilled by the cops for his stalking.

If all this sounds like a soap opera, or a bad episode of some Asian "Dawson's Creek" - it's not. And much of that is due to the refreshing cast of young actors who really infuse their characters with heart and soul. The film is about each of them finding his or her own path in the world - individually, but together as friends as well, and the viewer soon becomes absorbed with wanting each of these people to succeed; to remain friends, grow, and find their way.

From the wonderful musical score to the lush cinematography that is makes the screen bloom with life and color - beautifully in keeping with the art school setting - Honey and Clover is a tender, funny and moving portrait of the friendship, love and the insecurities that make up life when you're in your twenties. It's a warm blanket of a movie that makes me only anxious to track down the series now, to get to know the characters in more depth. Really wonderful. **** - Reel Awesome

DOUBT

Director: John Patrick Shanley

Stars: Meryl Steep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis

Year: 2008

Rating: PG-13

For anyone out there who still has any, uhh, "doubt" (sorry) about whether Meryl Streep is, indeed, the finest living actress around today - just put this film up against her performance in Mamma Mia! from the same year, and try to find another performer today who could have pulled off both such polar-opposite roles the way she did. Streep brings such passion, conviction, and immense talent to every character she takes on ... and never has that been more evident than in the role of Sister Aloysius Beauvier, a bitter and judgemental nun who runs her parish school in 1964 New York with an iron hand and a sharp tongue, delighting in terrorizing her students in order to keep them in line.

Very strong, charismatic performances are what make the film, and indeed Philip Seymour Hoffman's portrayal of Father Brendan Flynn goes head-to-head against Streep's ferocity, when Sister Aloysius learns from a young, teaching nun taken under her wing - Sister James (Amy Adams) - that she has seen Father Flynn engaging in some unusual behavior with a young Black male student at the school. Said behavior, as described by Sister James, could have any one of a dozen possible (and totally innocent) explanations - but in Sister Aloysius' twisted, sour mind only one explanation exists, and she becomes determined to find not so much the truth of what happened ... but her truth of what happened. Pecking away at the situation like a buzzard tearing flesh from a dead carcass, Sister not only slowly chips away at Father Flynn's character, background and motives - she also manages to ferment that same doubt in everyone and everything she touches, slowly making even the viewer unsure of Father Flynn's true role in the matter. Is the bottom line that Sister doesn't like Father Flynn's more progressive, forward-thinking attitudes regarding the Catholic church, and therefore just wants him out? Or does she really have the school and young man's interests at heart, wanting only to do the right thing and see a monster unmasked?

Based on the 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Doubt is a great mind game with the potential to make viewers question the courage of their own convictions more than once during the film. The four leads - Streep, Hoffman, Adams and Davis - give stellar performances that keep the film engrossing and viewers guessing ... though, in the end, don't necessarily expect a hard and fast resolution. Indeed, five different people watching this film could come to five different conclusions about the story (and characters) in it -then spend hours at dinner afterward, debating why they feel the way they do. That's the brilliance of the film; its ability to show you just how fragile your strongest beliefs can be when held up to the light of truth ... or how easily skewered they can become, when seen through corrupted eyes. **** - Reel Awesome

THE SECRETS

Director: Avi Nesher

Stars: Ania Bukstein, Michal Shtamler, Fanny Ardant, Adir Miller, Seffy Rivlin

Year: 2007

Rating: R

(in Hebrew and French w/English subtitles)

A film that seems to move forward on sure footing even as when you're not sure exactly what direction its taking, The Secrets is - at its center (I THINK) - a story about women's roles in Orthodox Israeli society today that, part-way through, segues into a tearjerker/love story with a smarmy, unreal ending that may leave viewers unsatisfied.

Ania Bukstein stars as Naomi, the beautiful, brainy daughter of a traditional Orthodox rabbi who has been studying Jewish law and tradition all of her life - even as she seeks, in time, to affect change in the way her own faith perceives women and their roles in the Jewish faith (her goal is to become the first female Orthodox rabbi). When Naomi's father wishes to marry her off to a strictly old-world student of his, she instead talks him into sending her to an all-girl seminary in Safed, to pursue her religious studies. Soon Naomi arrives at the school, where she meets her three roommates - one, in particular, being the chain-smoking, ill-tempered Michelle (Michal Shtamler) from Paris.

Naomi takes an instant dislike to Michelle, but soon is forced to set her feelings aside when the two girls are put in charge of taking food to a very ill Parisian lady staying nearby (Fanny Ardant, who brings the film its spark) - a woman with a scandalous, secret past that no one will discuss ... making the girls, of course, even more curious about her.

The woman finally reveals her past to the girls, but only because she wants them to help her find salvation for what she's done before she dies. Naomi is reluctant to help, knowing that doing so could get her in disastrous trouble, while Michelle of course is ready to jump in and do whatever it takes to make sure this lady dies cleansed of her sins. As Anouk (Ardant) becomes more ill and Naomi fights against time to find the correct rituals to see the woman off properly, a subplot begins that also finds Naomi and Michelle growing more and more attracted to each other physically - only adding to the risks they take as Anouk's time grows ever shorter.

The Secrets isn't a bad film - it's well-made, well-acted, and downright intriguing in places - yet somehow it unravels somewhat through the last third, as if it's still trying to decide just what kind of film it wants to be. The performances of the three leads are pretty solid, making it easy to get caught up in the characters - but what feels like an "important" film in the beginning turns into little more than a soap operatic love story with a too-neat, too-unrealistic (and slightly annoying) ending that ties everything up in a pretty (and conventional) bow that may have the echo of "I sat through all of this, for this?" running through your mind. ** - Reel Mediocre

MILK

Director: Gus Van Sant

Stars: Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, Alison Pill, Joseph Cross, Lucas Grabeel, Victor Garber

Year: 2008

Rating: R

All the hype is true: Milk is an authentic, moving, and very humane film, beautifully written by Dustin Lance Black and skillfully directed by Gus Van Sant ... the tentpole for which lands on the shoulders of Sean Penn and Josh Brolin, who both turn in Oscar-worthy performances. The cast of Milk, in fact, is a huge reason the films works - is engaging and riveting from beginning to end. James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, Alison Pill, Joseph Cross, and even High School Musical alum Lucas Grabeel - all are at the top of their game here, each only adding to the heartbeat that gives this biopic its soul.

Real news footage, interspersed throughout, helps to give the film its 1970's feel as we first meet Harvey Milk (Penn) on his fortieth birthday. He finds a new boyfriend, Scott (James Franco), to celebrate with, and talks Scott into coming along with him when he moves to San Francisco to seek a new life. Once in the city, Milk learns that his new home is both the haven and hell for the GLBT community, and strives to make a change by speaking out for the rights of people who are "different" - but no less deserving of respect and their right to live and love. There are many in San Francisco who disagree with Harvey Milk, of course - and even in this film, set over thirty years ago, its chilling to see and hear some of the same homophobic slurs used even to this day - but soon Milk becomes somewhat of a local celebrity ... and becomes more and more of a threat to conservatives and right-wing Christians and Anita Bryant alike, as his popularity in the community only grows.

As Harvey fights the fight, gaining in supporters and strength, all the anti-gay hostility pointed against him can be summed up in the paranoid mind of Dan White (Brolin), a fellow politico who sees Milk as his biggest threat, both professionally and (in time) personally. As White sees Milk's message getting more and more popular in his city - as the GLBT community takes to the streets in support of its hero, an icon for change and basic human rights - its White who begins to unravel, deciding on a course of action that, in the end, only made Milk and his message that much more relevant.

It can't be said enough how human and well-acted this film is, from everyone involved in the cast. Like individual pieces of a puzzle only working with each other to create the total, perfect picture, each performance is first-rate and riveting to watch. In particular, James Franco's performance is so subtly layered, so really and sympathetic and compelling, you can see why Harvey Milk fell in love with Scott after just one night.

A terrific film with Penn (turning in a careful, understated and truly chameleon-like performance - maybe the best of his career) at its center, Milk is one of those films that should be seen by everyone - and should be studied in acting classes for caliber of its talent. Not one frame is wasted of one of the top-ten films released in 2009, a "must-have" for the DVD library of anyone who calls themselves a lover of film. ****1/2 - Reel Awesome-Reel Must-See

THE GRUDGE 3

Director: Toby Wilkins

Stars: Gil McKinney, Johanna Braddy, Matthew Knight, Emi Ikehata, Shawnee Smith, Beau Mirchoff

Year: 2009

Rating: R

Well, you sort of know you're in trouble with a sequel when it's released directly to DVD. Worse, when most of the original cast members and even the original director didn't come back for the latest installment.

That said, The Grudge 3 - the direct-to-DVD release of the third installment in the HIGHLY Americanized version of a popular Japanese horror film series - could have been a lot worse. Sadly, it also could have been infinitely better.

The film opens with the sole surviving member from the Chicago apartment house setting from part two - Jake (Matthew Knight). Jake's entire family was killed off in the second installment - all except his stepmother, who police think did the murders but was really possessed by the ghost of Kayako - and the shock has left the young boy so unhinged and in fear of his life (he knows the supernatural is at work, here), he's been confined to a padded cell by Dr. Sullivan (Shawnee Smith of the ever-growing Saw franchise), the psychiatrist attached to his case. Jake has been put away for his own good, to alleviate his fears - but the kid saw too much of what's going on to believe he's anywhere near safe, and begs to be released ... a wish Dr. Sullivan doesn't grant, much to her regret early on in the film.

Meanwhile, back at the apartment house, the deaths (and weird occurrences in general) have tenants moving out left and right - which leaves the building's manager, Max (Gil McKinney, doing the best he can here, with what he's given to work with, script-wise), stressing over losing his job. His younger sister Lisa (Johanna Braddy), about to move to New York City with her boyfriend (Beau Mirchoff), he's not so worried about ... but the parent-less siblings also have a young sister named Rose, and Rose has some severe breathing/health problems. Max feels Rose is his responsibility, and he can't let anything jeopardize that.

Add into the mix Naoko (Emi Ikehata) - a young, somewhat mysterious Japanese woman who, we learn early on, may hold the key to curing the curse for good - and what's supposed to unfold is a suspenseful and scary thriller that pits the long Japanese woman against one funky pair of mother-son ghosts ... ghosts who are slowly devouring anyone and everyone in the apartment building touched by their rage.

Anyway, that's what is supposed to unfold. But in reality, the suspense is barely suspenseful - and the death scenes are all shot either too dark or too fast, and with (often, but not always) cheesy special effects; it's as if the budget just wasn't there for elaborate gross out-ery (with the possible exception of one fairly interesting sequence featuring Marina Sirtis from "Star Trek: The Next Generation," who plays Rose's babysitter), so the director just used quick cuts and dark lighting to cover the cheese. Worse still, the actors playing both ghosts - the stair-crawling Kayoko, and her cat-boy son Toshio - are not the same as in the first two films, and it shows; hell, the boy playing Toshio, who's supposed to be 8-10 years old, looks at least fifteen in part three - when first seen, seated and with his legs folded into his chest on a stairwell, it's almost laughable how wrong the actor is for the part. Even the makeup on both ghosts is just plain silly - both actors look like they've been dipped in flour, and you can even spot Kayako actually wearing a wife beater (white tanktop) in one "death scene."

Characters doing things that don't make sense, plot logic is thrown out the window in several places, and the death scenes - both in originality and style - pale in comparison to the first two films in this American series (I still say if you want the best versions, see the Japanese originals). Even the ending - which Gil McKinney's performance barely manages to hold together - is still, by the time the credits roll, both ambiguous and silly ... setting up the possibility for a part four that really doesn't need to be made.

Not a horrible film - but surely not a good one. Probably for completist fans of the series only, who need to see it just because they've seen the others and want to know how it all plays out. Other than that - only silly, low budget chills (at best) await. ** - Reel Mediocre