Mike's Movie Tips

3/4 Starring (voices): Limara Meneses, Eman Xor Ona, Mario Guerra, Lenny Mandel NR (contains Sexuality and Nudity--I'd give it a PG-13, but the MPAA would give it an R) "Chico & Rita" is a love letter to jazz and romance.  Decades ago, we had actual musicians and singers, not dolled up models doing suggestive choreography and lip synching to mechanized music.  This is about that kind of music, where creativity and talent meant much more than they do today. Chico (Ona) is the best piano player in the world, or at least that's what his friend/agent Ramon says.  He's hoping for a big break, and when he hears the beautiful Rita sing, and he knows that if he has her, they'll both go far.  But Rita hates Chico, and only sings with him for the money.  Surprise surprise, they win a competition, fall in love, and Rita is pegged by a big time producer named Ron (Mandel).  She hits it big while Chico is left by the sidelines.  Yet these two are destin...

2.5/4 Starring: Sam Riley, Andrea Riseborough, Helen Mirren, Andy Serkis, John Hurt Rated R for Violence, Language and Some Sexual Content There are two words to describe "Brighton Rock:" intense and uneven.  The former describes the brilliantly chilling performance by Sam Riley and the tone that he sets for the film.  The latter describes the narrative flow, which drags as often as it is suspenseful. The film is taken from a novel by Graham Green and transported ahead 30 years to the 1960s.  A small-time mob boss named Kite (Geoff Bell) is murdered.  His underling, the ambitious and malevolent Pinkie (Riley) sees a way to take control of the little gang.  But there's a problem.  When he got revenge for his boss's murder, he killed the man, named Hale (Sean Harris) instead of scaring him, and there's a witness: a shy young waitress named Rose (Riseborough).  He dates her to keep tabs on her, but there are forces are aligning against him: the ri...

3.5/4 Starring: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller Rated R for Disturbing Violence and Behavior, Some Sexuality and Language It seems that every few months or so, there's a mass shooting, and often they take place at schools.  Virginia Tech, Columbine, Red Lake Massacre.  Such events are incredibly disturbing to a person's psyche.  Our instinct is to blame the parents.  It's only natural; parents are in charge of their kids' upbringing and often we hear news of the killer(s) having drug addicted/mentally ill parents.  But sometimes, no easy answers are available.  Such is the case with "We Need to Talk About Kevin." Eva Khatchadourian (Swinton) is a wife to Franklin (Reilly) and mother to Kevin (Rock Duer, Jasper Newell, and Miller).  Trouble starts before Kevin is born.  Eva doesn't seem to be too excited to become a mother, and after the child is born, he annoys her.  Eva may not be the best mother, but Kevin seems to deligh...

2/4 Starring: Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow, Gina Gershon, Kathy Bates, Harry Connick, Jr., Jeffrey Dean Morgan Rated PG-13 for Sexual References and Brief Nudity There is a wide margin between what "P.S. I Love You" wants  to be, and what it actually is.   The film wants  to be a bittersweet romantic comedy about grief and moving on.  What it is  is a wildly uneven mess of a movie with plastic characters, unsure direction and mediocre acting (save for one exception). Holly Kennedy (Swank) is a neurotic New Yorker who can't find a job that she likes.  Her loving husband Gerry (Butler) takes the brunt of her frustration, but he loves her like no other (why is never made clear).  Sadly, Gerry dies of a brain tumor and Holly is naturally devastated.  But to her surprise, he has left her a series of letters to get her back in the world. With such a strong production team, it's kind of a shock to find a film this bad.  Hilary ...

2/4 Starring: Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston, Bill Cobbs, Mike Starr, Michele Lamar Richards, Gary Kemp Rated R for Language I have a unique history with "The Bodyguard."  It's the first movie I knew of that had an R rating (the first PG-13 movie I heard of was "Greedy," still yet unseen), and thus I had a strange fascination with it.  In a way, it was like a forbidden fruit (despite the fact that I've been able to see R rated movies for over a half decade).  Unfortunately, it's not that good. Frank Farmer (Costner) is a retired Secret Service agent who now freelances as a bodyguard to famous people when they're in a pickle.  His latest client is pop superstar Rachel Marron (Houston), who is the victim of an obsessed fan.  Farmer is married to the job, and leaves once it is over.  He doesn't want a personal connection to mess with his focus.  But he finds an attraction to Rachel, one that is mutual.  Is Frank willing to let his guard down...

4/4 Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Frances Fisher, Kathy Bates, Bill Paxton, Gloria Stuart, Victor Garber, Jonathan Hyde, Bernard Hill, Suzy Amis Rated PG-13 for Disaster-Related Peril and Violence, Nudity, Sensuality and Some Language Before its release, executives at 20th Century Fox were incredibly nervous.  The film's release date had to be pushed back to get the special effects up to James Cameron's specifications and the budget ballooned to $200 million, the most expensive movie at the time.  In retrospect, they needn't have worried.  "Titanic" was a colossal success, being the first film to pass the $1 billion dollar threshold and was the highest grossing movie for 12 years, until it was passed by James Cameron's next film, " Avatar ." When viewing the film, it's easy to see why it was so successful.  It has something for everyone: romance, comedy, tragedy, action and peerless special effects.  All of these ...

3.5/4 Starring: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Jack Kruschen Not Rated (contains Thematic Material) Some people will do anything to get ahead.  Ass kissing is an unwritten rule for those who want to be on the up and up, and sexual affairs certainly occur (ever heard of the casting couch?).  For C.C. Baxter (Lemmon), it's all about location, location, location. Baxter is a kind-hearted Ivy Leaguer working at an insurance company.  In exchange for good performance reviews from his bosses, he'll allow them to use his apartment for quickie sexual affairs (his apartment is close to the office).  The ploy works, and it isn't long before he's got a new office and is on good terms with the big boss, Jeff Sheldrake (MacMurray).  Trouble begins when he gets involved with the lovely elevator operator, Fran Kubelik (MacLaine), who happens be be carrying on an affair with Sheldrake. Desperate people are the easiest to manipulate because they're more...