Mike's Movie Tips

3.5/4 Starring: Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Garner, Gena Rowlands, Joan Allen, James Marsden, Sam Shepard Rated PG-13 for Some Sexuality "The Notebook" is one of those sappy romances that spoof movies and MAD magazine love to make fun of.  It's sappy, melodramatic, and predictable.  It also works wonderfully.  The two leads have smoldering chemistry, the story is very romantic, and the setting is superb.  I may be a guy, but I loved this movie. Allie Hamilton (McAdams) is a young rich girl vacationing in Georgia with her family.  One night at the carnival, a young man named Noah Calhoun (Gosling) walks up to her and asks if she wants to dance.  She rebuffs him, but after propositioning her again while hanging from a Ferris Wheel, she agrees.  It's not quite love at first sight, but they fall for each other.  Unfortunately, Noah is not rich, and Allie's parents (especially her mother) do not approve.  They break it off when Allie has to go back home

2/4 Starring: Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter, Donna Mills Rated R for Graphic Violence (I guess) Celebrity stalkers are not a new thing.  Many celebrities, from TV news reporters like Kathryn Dettman to Steven Spielberg, are victims of stalking by obsessed fans.  Clint Eastwood's directorial debut, "Play Misty for Me" is about a late-night disk jockey who is terrorized by a psychotic fan, but unfortunately, it's not nearly as realistic or exciting as it sounds. Dave Garver (Eastwood) is a late night radio host known for his smooth voice and the soft jazz records that he plays.  Every night, without fail, a woman calls and asks the same thing: "Play 'Misty' for me."  Dave obliges, and one night at his favorite waterhole, he runs into a beautiful woman named Evelyn (Walter), who sounds an awful lot like the girl who calls his show every night.  He goes to her place, they have sex, and he says goodbye.  He thinks it was just a one night fling, u

2/4 Starring: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston, Ben Foster Rated R for Strong Horror Violence and Language “30 Days of Night” is Stephen King’s “Storm of the Century” with vampires standing in for the monster Andre Linoge.  Unfortunately, while Josh Hartnett is an adequate stand-in for Tim Daly, the same cannot be said for Danny Huston, who next to Colm Feore, is as frightening as Robert Pattinson in “Twilight.” Once a year, the small town of Barrow, Alaska has a night that lasts for thirty days.  It’s getting to be that time of year again, and some strange things are happening.  A number of cell phones have been burned in a pit, all the sled dogs in the town have been slaughtered, and a mysterious man (Foster) shows up bringing warnings of death.  That’s when vampires, led by Marlow (Huston), show up and start slaughtering everyone who hasn’t fled for warmer weather. The first 30 minutes are rocky.  The little scenes that are meant to build a sense of

3/4 Starring: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Gary Oldman, Seth Rogen Rated PG for Sequences of Martial Arts Action and Mild Violence 2006’s “Kung Fu Panda” was an amusing but slight motion picture that was diverting, but little else.  In a rather strange turn of events, “Kung Fu Panda 2” has expanded just about everything, although with mixed results. At the end of the first film, the fat panda Po (Black) proved himself to be the legendary Dragon Warrior and defeated the evil villain Tai Lung.  In this film, Po has joined with the Furious Five in kung-fu-ing everyone who causes trouble in the Valley of Peace.  But something is afoot!  A vicious peacock named Shen (Oldman) has come up with a machine that may make kung fu a thing of the past.  Meanwhile, events lead Po to wonder what really happened to his family, and why he was raised by Mr. Ping (James Hong), who is a goose. All of the cast members from the previous film (excepting Ian McShane, whose

2/4 Starring: Miley Cyrus, Liam Hemsworth, Greg Kinnear, Bobby Coleman Rated PG for Thematic Material, Some Violence, Sensuality and Mild Language Let me begin by saying I’m a sucker for this sort of thing.  I hate to admit it, but shamelessly manipulative tearjerkers frequently get to me.  Maybe it’s because, at heart, I’m a romantic. Be that as it may, “The Last Song” doesn’t work for a number of reasons.  For one thing, the script is shallow, and although the two leads have chemistry (something that can’t be faked), they can’t act.  Only Greg Kinnear and Bobby Coleman escape unscathed. Ronnie Miller (Cyrus) is a musical prodigy who has stopped playing and has become a rebellious and uncommunicative teenager.  She and her brother, Jonah (Coleman) have been shipped off to Georgia to visit their father, Steve (Kinnear) for the summer.  Ronnie doesn’t like the idea and makes no secret of it.  Shortly after she arrives, she attracts the attention of a stud named Wil

2.5/4 Starring: Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Jerry Stiller, Milla Jovovich Rated PG-13 for Sexual Content and Drug References “Zoolander” is a satire of the fashion industry (which is an easy enough target) and spy movies (ditto).  The problem is that few of the jokes have any edge or sense of being fresh, and that means boredom.  It is a testament to the talent of the actors that this film is more consistently amusing than it is boring (although it is also that at times, too). The intrepid hero of this film is an exceptionally dim-witted model named Derek Zoolander (Stiller).  In comparison, Bill and Ted are MENSA members (it’s probably unfair to compare him to Borat, because in all honesty, Borat was oblivious and naive rather than stupid).  Once at the top of the modeling world, his star has been replaced by the blond-locked Hansel (Wilson).  After his best friends are killed in an accident, he decides to leave his modeling life behind.

0.5/4 Starring: Mika Hijii, Ben Hiura, Shuji Kashiwabara, Masanori Mimoto Unrated (contains violence and gore) Watching movies for camp value is always a risky thing, especially because everyone’s sense of humor is different.  When it works, it can be funny, but unlike in regular comedies which have solid acting, plots and production values, a campy movie that falls flat is agonizing.  “Alien vs. Ninja” is a hit-and-miss campy horror flick, but unfortunately, it misses more often than it hits, and even when the gags work, they’re not particularly funny. A group of ninjas have just returned from some battle, when they are sent out again to investigate a mysterious comet that has fallen to the ground.  Unfortunately for them, the comet contains a few really nasty aliens. Admittedly, you don’t go into movies like this for plot or characterizations, which is why it’s pointless to criticize a film by rules that do not apply.  That being said, this is still a really shi

3.5/4 Starring: Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, Anne Corley Rated R for Strong Violence and Sexual Content and for Pervasive Language “Monster” isn’t so much a serial killer movie as it is an American tragedy.  One of the main themes of the movie is that you have to play the hand you’re dealt; Aileen Wuornos just got dealt a really bad hand.  All she wanted was her share of the American Dream. At the beginning of the film, Aileen (Theron) is about to kill herself.  But she wants to spend the last 5 bucks she got from a john on a beer (because not spending it would be like doing it for free), and it is there that she meets Selby (Ricci), a young lesbian that shows an interest in her.  They get drunk, and although Aileen isn’t gay (or at least she claims not to be), they fall in love.  But money is running out, and Aileen is forced to return to prostitution, but she ends up killing the johns and taking their money. Writer/director Patty Jenkins wants u

2/4 Starring: Matthias Schweighofer, Til Schweiger, Lena Heady, Joseph Fiennes Rated PG-13 for War Violence, Some Disturbing Images, and Brief Suggestive Material Manfred von Richtofen, better known as “The Red Baron,” was the most famous and feared fighter pilot in World War I.  Racking up more enemy kills than any other pilot in the war, he became a symbol of nationalistic pride for Germany and a mortal enemy for the Allies until his death in 1918, shortly before the end of the conflict.  While his story is certainly interesting, Nikolai Muellerschon’s film is not the one to tell it.  This is a bare bones telling of the story with only the important moments and no character or story development.  It’s as if the running time meant more than telling a complete story. Rich kid Baron Manfred von Richtofen (Schweighofer) is already the pride of his unit when the film starts.  He’s a skilled fighter pilot who views dogfighting as a hunt; to him, this is merely a life and

3/4 Starring: Ulrich Noethen, Ben Becker, Heino Ferch, Heinrich Schafmeister, Max Tidof Rated R (inexplicably) for Some Nudity “The Harmonists” is closer to a misfire than it is an unqualified success, but the problems that hamper the middle portion of the movie are outweighed (albeit barely) by the film’s successes.  The film tries to be more than a typical “history of a band” film like “That Thing You Do!” but the content that it adds to flesh out the characters is clichéd and uninvolving.  Still, the music is great, and the final act has real power. The film details the history of The Comedian Harmonists, an acapella harmony music group that soared to popularity all over Europe before it disbanded due to persecution by the Nazis.  Out of work actor Harry Frommermann (Noethen) gets an idea to form a vocal harmony group.  He casts auditions and shortly thereafter ends up with five other singers, and they form The Comedian Harmonists.  The difference between them and

2/4 Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Lee Pace, Michael Landes Rated PG-13 for Violence, Disturbing Imgaes, Some Sexuality and Language Not to be confused with the 2002 Neil LaBute dud In many ways, “Possession” is especially disappointing because it had the potential to be so much more.  The premise is dynamite, and it could be used for just about any genre of movie.  Unfortunately, the script contains no character development and by trying to be both a romance and a horror movie, it fails at both. Jess (Gellar) and Ryan (Landes) are a happily married couple celebrating their one year anniversary.  They love each other deeply, but unfortunately, they are forced to live with Ryan’s brother Roman (Pace), who’s an ex-con on probation.  Suddenly, Ryan and Roman are in a terrible car crash, and they both end up in comas.  Weeks pass, but then something strange happens: Roman wakes up believing he’s Ryan. Like I said, the premise has potential.  For a while, it look

2/4 Starring: Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yusuke Iseda, Goro Inagaki Rated R for Sequences of Bloody Violence, Some Disturbing Images, and Brief Nudity “13 Assassins” is to “The Seven Samurai” what “Takers” was to “Heat.”  The plots are very similar, and the later versions were both major steps down for virtually the same reasons: almost no character development, acting deficiencies, and distinct lack of tension.  But while “Takers” had the earmarks of a guilty pleasure, “13 Assassins” is an overlong and often confused bore. The Age of the Samurai is coming to a close.  But a long era of peace is about to be broken by a sadistic ruler named Lord Naritsugu (Inagaki).  Because he is the half-brother of the Shogun, he can’t be touched without dire consequences; even worse, his inevitable ascent to a more powerful role in the shogunate could spell doom for all of Japan.  So Sir Doi (Mikijiro Hira), a member of a different clan, gives his trusted samurai, Shinzaemon (Ya

3/4 Starring: Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Robbie Coltrane, Ian Holm Rated R for Strong Violence/Gore, Sexuality, Language and Drug Content With a movie about Jack the Ripper, it’s easy to assume that the film would be grim and bloody, and you’d be right on both counts.  Compared to this, “Seven” is a lighthearted caper.  The Hughes’ Brothers stylishly directed adaptation of the Alan Moore/Eddie Campbell graphic novel is positively dripping with atmosphere and is the perfect place where the utmost evil can breed. Inspector Frederick Abberline (Depp) is a detective who by using opium is able to see grisly murders.  This comes in handy when a serial killer is viciously killing and dissecting prostitutes in the Whitechapel district of London.  With the help of his good friend Peter Godley (Coltrane) and a lovely prostitute named Mary Kelly (Graham), Abberline learns that there is more to this case than initially meets the eye. The Hughes Brothers have a superb sens

3/4 Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Chris O’Dowd, Jon Hamm, Melissa McCarthy Rated R for Some Strong Sexuality and Language Throughout “Bridesmaids” is being marketed as a female version of “The Hangover,” and that’s not exactly true.  Although it does deal with a wedding, this is part romantic-comedy and part raunchy comedy.  It’s really two movies in one, and while they are not-so-elegantly wed together (the film is way too long), the film works. Annie (Wiig) is down in the dumps.  Her bakery business went belly up, she has bills (that she can’t pay) up the wazoo, and the man she’s sleeping with (Hamm) only wants her for sex, not a relationship.  Things are going to get a whole lot worse when she agrees to be the maid of honor for the wedding of her life-long best friend, Lillian (Rudolph). The most important thing a comedy must do is make the viewer laugh, and this does it.  There were a number of sequences where I was laughing so hard I could

4/4 Starring: Nicolas Cage, John Travolta, Joan Allen, Gina Gershon, Alessandro Nivola Rated R for Intense Sequences of Strong Violence, and Strong Language This movie could have gone wrong in so many ways, yet it doesn’t.  In fact, this is an example of the perfect action movie.  The plot is intriguing and it never takes the easy way out, the action scenes are exciting, and the performances are first rate.  What more can an action movie lover ask for? Sean Archer (Travolta) is a government agent obsessed with capturing the international criminal named Castor Troy (Cage).  In addition to being behind numerous bombings, murders and other kinds of assorted mayhem, Troy killed Archer’s son five years ago.  At long last, Archer has apprehended Troy, but there’s a problem.  Troy has placed a bomb somewhere in downtown Los Angeles, and he’s now a vegetable.  Archer has no choice but to undergo a top-secret procedure where he will literally change faces with Troy in order to i

1/4 Starring: James Spader, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeremy Davies Rated R Strong Sexuality, Some Nudity, Depiction of Behavioral Disorders and Language “Secretary” is one of those annoying indie flicks where the director is so obsessed with trying to be hip and deep to impress critics that he forgets why he is making the movie in the first place: to tell a story.  The story, a sado-masochistic romance, has promise, but director Steven Shainberg drains every last bit of life and energy from the screen. Lee Holloway (Gyllenhaal) is a young woman who has just been released from a mental hospital for a suicide attempt (that was really an episode of self-mutilation gone wrong).  She gets a job with a lawyer named E. Edward Grey (Spader).  But their professional relationship ventures beyond platonic when the sexually sadistic lawyer realizes that his new secretary is a masochist. “Secretary” is a bad movie of the worst kind.  It’s slow moving, pretentious, and worst of all,

2/4 Starring: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris Rated R (Inexplicably) for Some Sexual Content Slow movies are fine.  Another romance, “Brokeback Mountain,” is a good example.  That movie moved at a slow yet deliberate pace so we could really get to know the characters and experience them falling in love.  “Lost in Translation” attempts to do the same thing, but it fails miserably and thus becomes an overlong bore. Bob (Bill Murray) is an actor at the end of his career.  He’s in Japan being paid $2 million to advertise a whiskey.  But he is bored and doesn’t know anyone or the customs, hence the term “lost.”  He runs into another person in the same position, a woman named Charlotte (Johansson).  She followed her husband to Japan where he is doing a photo shoot.  Since both of them are bored out of their minds, they start hanging out together and a friendship blossoms. It’s easy to understand what writer/director Sofia Coppola is trying t

3/4 Starring: Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy, Terrence Stamp, Christian Berkel, Jamie Parker Rated PG-13 for Violence and Brief Strong Language It takes true skill to make an effective thriller about which the ending is already common knowledge.  But by taking the perspective from the point of view from the characters and making this about them rather than the plot, our foreknowledge becomes an asset rather than a detriment. 1944.  World War II is in full swing, and things are not looking good for Germany.  Many high ranking officials are have lost faith in Hitler, and think him more and more as a danger to Germany rather than a leader.  Previous assassination attempts have failed, but a group of high ranking Nazi officers and politicians have come together to pull off the impossible: kill Adolph Hitler and take control of Germany.  The question is, can they do it, and will everyone have the guts to see it through? The film is divided into two parts.  The first half is th

1.5/4 Starring: Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Christopher Lee, Lee Pace Rated R for Violence, Language and Brief Sexuality/Nudity “The Resident” is a “stranger within” thriller, and its utter failure makes you appreciate what Barbet Schroeder (“Single White Female”) and James Foley (“Fear”) accomplished.  Those were terrifying thrillers because of the skill of the actors and the directors.  “The Resident” is easily the worst thriller of this ilk, beating out the laughably silly “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle.” Juliet (Swank) is an ER doctor who followed her boyfriend, Jack (Pace) to New York City, only to have him cheat on her.  Looking for a new place to live, she finds an amazing apartment for a great price.  The landlord, Max (Morgan) is nice, good looking and interested in her.  Unfortunately for Juliet, his interest in her goes far beyond a bouquet of roses and a kiss on the cheek. Hilary Swank is one of the most talented actresses around.  Her performa

2/4 Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Leslie Cheung, Cherie Chung, Kenneth Tsang, Kong Chu Rated R (inexplicably) for Violence Every now and again, an artist gets the urge to expand his body of work and do something outside of his comfort zone.  Sometimes this works…Steven Spielberg was primarily known as an action film director until he blew the world away with “Schindler’s List.”  With “Once a Thief,” action film master John Woo has attempted something similar, only with much less satisfactory results. Three art thieves, Joe (Yun-Fat), Jim (Cheung) and Cherie (Chung), have been raised together since they were young by Father (Tsang) to become masters at the art of the steal, and they are as close as siblings.  However, they are in a tug of war with Godfather (Chu), a cop who wants them to go straight.  It’s not as easy as it sounds, but when they make the decision to go legit once and for all, there are dire consequences from Father. This is John Woo’s attempt at making a

2/4 Starring: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, Kevin Pollack, Daryl Hannah, Burgess Meredith Rated PG-13 for Some Sexual References Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau were the ultimate odd couple (ironic because they were good friends in real life).  The comic chemistry between them was electric, and when director Donald Petrie concentrates on that, the film is hilarious.  Unfortunately, the film is more about the would-be tender romances that the Lemmon and Matthau have with the flighty new neighbor.  That would be fine, if it were funny (which is isn’t) or if Ann-Margret had any chemistry with either of her co-stars (she doesn’t).  Sadly that means a lot of boredom between the laughs. John Gustafson (Lemmon) and Max Goldman (Matthau) have been rivals for the last 50 years.  Pranks and name-calling are just two of the ways these two old codgers try to drive each other nuts.  But the private war going on between them has taken an interesting turn when a beautiful

3/4 Starring: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Brad Dourif, Alex Vincent Rated R for Horror Violence and Language (I guess) It’s “Toy Story” from hell: a slasher movie where the villain is a possessed doll.  There’s no way anyone could take this movie seriously, but for the most part, director Tom Holland takes things mostly straight.  And you know what?  It actually works.  “Child’s Play” is a surprisingly creepy movie, with a few laughs along the way. Facing imminent death, serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) performs an act of voodoo to transfer his soul into that of a Good Guy doll, a hot new toy.  Hard working mom Karen Barclay (Catherine Hicks) is desperate to find a Good Guy doll for her young son Andy’s (Alex Vincent) birthday.  As luck would have it, her friend Maggie (Dinah Peterson) found one cheaply that’s being sold by a homeless guy outside her work.  The problem is, the one she found is the possessed toy, and it isn’t long before Chucky (as he

3/4 Starring: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Brandy, Mekhi Phifer, Matthew Settle Rated R for Intense Terror Violence and Gore, Strong Language, and Some Drug Use The lower your expectations are, the more you’ll enjoy “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer,” which as everyone seems to have already pointed out, should be called, “I Still Know What You Did Two Summers Ago.”  I’ll admit, also like everyone else, that the title that was used sounds better. Like most sequels, it’s inferior to its predecessor (a film that I found to be a lot better than I thought it would be), but not by much.  The production values are a lot better, the acting is stronger, and it has an ending that, while sort of a cheat, is unexpected. One year after most of her friends were brutally murdered by Ben Willis (Muse Watson), Julie James (Hewitt) is still having nightmares.  But when her best friend Karla (Brandy) wins tickets to the Bahamas on a radio show, she knows that this is exactly what Juli

3/4 Starring: Jason Isaacs, Sofia Milos, Emmy Rossum, Lupe Ontiveros, Theresa Russell, Seymour Cassel Rated PG-13 for Some Sensuality and a Conversation About Drugs “Passionada” is everything a good romantic comedy should be.  It’s funny, well-acted and reasonably short.  But more importantly, we like the characters and even more so when they’re together. Charlie Beck (Isaacs) is a card shark who is running out of places to go where the casinos don’t have his name on their “do not enter” list.  One night when he is out with a friend, he sees Celia Amonte (Milos) sing, and Charlie is instantly smitten.  His attempts to get a date with the widow are rebuffed, but Celia’s daughter, Vicky (Rossum) makes him a deal: if he teaches her to count cards, she’ll give him tips on how to woo her mother. Jason Isaacs is one of my favorite actors.  Although he is known for playing utterly evil villains (most notably Col. Tavington in “The Patriot” and Lucius Malfoy in the Harry

3/4 Starring: Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Martin Donovan, Patrick Fugit, Mary Louise Parker Rated PG-13 for Strong Thematic Issues Involving Teens-Sexual Content, Pregnancy, Smoking and Language “Saved!” is a much needed satire of the Christian Right, and while some of the barbs are sharp, it’s mostly a character piece, and it has a heart.  Sure, it’s kind of schmaltzy, and many of the laughs aren’t as successful as the filmmakers would have liked, but is enjoyable nonetheless. Mary (Malone) is a good Christian.  She’s one of the Christian Jewels, the sort-of club of popular girls at American Eagle High School.  Her best friend is the uber-Christian Hilary Faye (Moore), and together they rule the school as the best Christians.  But one day her boyfriend Dean (Chad Faust) confesses that he’s gay, and when she knocks her head on the pool ladder, she thinks she sees Jesus (it’s really the pool guy).  Jesus tells her that she has to do whatever she can to s

2.5/4 Starring: Ed Harris, Diane Kruger, Matthew Goode, Joe Anderson Rated PG-13 for Some Sexual Elements “It has promise.  Let me develop it with you.”—Beethoven, “Copying Beethoven.” Too bad no one helped develop this film.  It indeed has promise, although it doesn’t completely come together.  Due mostly to a lackluster script, what could have been the second coming of the classic Mozart biopic “Amadeus” ends up being a forgettable film with an amazing 15 minute concert scene. The film details the fractious relationship between Ludwig von Beethoven (Harris) and his copyist, a conservatory student named Anna Holtz (Kruger).  Their relationship is tumultuous; sometimes they work well together, other times they can’t stand each other.  But their work leads to one of Beethoven’s many masterpieces: his ninth symphony. The problem with the film lies not with the acting.  Ed Harris is wonderful as the fiery Beethoven.  He gets everything right: the ego, the deafnes

2.5/4 Starring: Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Plummer, Judy Parfitt, David Strathairn Rated R for Language and Domestic Abuse Alcoholism and domestic violence, painful as they are, will never cease to compel because they have a deep relevance for everyone.  Whether it’s through first-hand or tangential means, we all know about alcoholism and spousal abuse (in many cases, the two go hand in hand).  In his film based on the book by Stephen King, director Taylor Hackford uses a mystery story as a means to examine both of these issues. Selena (Leigh) is a reporter for the New York Times who returns to her small hometown after her mother, Dolores (Bates) has been arrested for the murder of her employer (Parfitt).   The two have been estranged for years, and this reunion is going to open some old wounds that Selena would much rather have been left alone. With a cast like this, it goes without saying that the acting is strong.  Kathy Bates is very good as

3/4 Starring: Jon Foster, Samaire Armstrong, Frankie Muniz, Jimmi Simpson, Sophia Bush The version of the film being reviewed is the Unrated one.  For the record, the theatrical version is rated PG-13 for Horror Violence, Disturbing Images, Language, Brief Sexual and Drug Content I was not expecting to like this movie as much as I did.  True, the film is a rip-off of “FeardotCom” (which itself was a rip-off of “The Ring”), but there’s a lot of good ideas going on here, and there is actually a legitimate amount of tension in the proceedings.  It’s not perfect (there are some moments where it plays dumb, breaks its own rules, and the final scene doesn’t work), but I still liked it. Hutch (Foster) is not happy.  His best friends, Loomis (Milo Ventimiglia), Rex (Billy Slaughter) and Sarah (Nicole Opperman) were just brutally murdered.  After his funeral, Hutch and a few friends get together and play the beta version of a game that Loomis was playing when he died.  What th

3.5/4 Featuring: Philippe Petit, Jean Francois Heckel, Jean-Louis Blondeau Rated PG-13 for Some Sexuality and Nudity, and Drug References It’s not hard to imagine why documentaries are the least popular film genre.  After all, we watch movies to be entertained, not to learn anything.  There’s a lot of truth to that; when I watch a movie, I want to be told a story.  If I learn something new, all the better. And that’s exactly what James Marsh does with “Man on Wire.”  This is not Ken Burns.  Or Michael Moore for that matter.  He uses interviews, re-enactments and photographs to tell the extraordinary story of the man who walked on a wire between the two towers of the World Trade Center. Philippe Petit has always been a climber.  Psychiatrists have posed theories as to why he has such a love for climbing things, but in the end, it really doesn’t matter.  Petit is who he is, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.  He is a master at tightrope walking, and he either ha