Donna Freitas: March 2007 Archives

I've no doubt "The Last Mimzy" will keep you glued to your seat. Yes, it's a hokey premise--people from the future send a box of "toys" (and in particular, a stuffed rabbit) for two children to find in the past--and it only gets hokier from the moment Emma and Noah find these treasures on the beach. But you have to remember: "The Last Mimzy" is made by the same people who did "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." So it follows in the vein of that movie.

What's fascinating about this story is the way it mixes science--virtual technology and string theory--with Buddhist spirituality. As Emma and Noah learn to "play" with these mysterious toys, Noah becomes a scientific genius of some sort--he can suddenly talk to spiders and make objects move with this mind--and Emma becomes a meditation guru.

Noah's science teacher (played by Rainn Wilson of "The Office"), whose wife, Naomi, (Kathryn Hahn) happens to be a palm reader and aficionado of all things Tibetan Buddhist, steps into the picture not only because Noah develops a shocking science project about spiders, but because Noah is drawing what are called Mandalas--ancient Tibetan artworks that depict the history of the universe through intricate, beautiful, and mind-gripping patterns.

Naomi helps the family understand the spiritual significance of Emma and Noah's new intelligence, since not only do Noah and Emma recognize all of the most famous Mandalas, but the kids also know the proper names of the historical artwork.

And then of course there is Mimzy, the stuffed rabbit. Though Mimzy is central to the film and Emma's enlightenment--an almost human piece of virtual technology that becomes Emma's teacher/guru--it's still a stuffed rabbit. The premise is that because Mimzy was meant for a child, it had to be a stuffed animal.

This is where the film's holes start to show. Mimzy is teaching Emma the art of meditation and mindfulness. And up until now there are some very interesting, cool things that the children learn--string theory, levitation, and many other scientific and spiritual subjects. But how does this help them save the future? What's wrong with the future? And do the kids use what they have learned to save the future? Is that what Mimzy's ultimate purpose is? Not really.

Without giving away the ending, I can say that it gets out of control and is the biggest disappointment of the film, so be warned. The payoff behind why "the toys" were sent is utterly weak and unsatisfying. But if you can forgive the ending, "The Last Mimzy" is a family-friendly, heady trip.

"The Last Mimzy" releases in theaters nationwide today.

Everywhere I turn I run into an advertisement, commercial, or preview for "Reign Over Me," the latest of a series of films related to 9/11, but decidedly unlike others released so far--like Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center" and Paul Greengrass's "United 93." It doesn't focus on the events of that awful day but on how two men rediscover a friendship that helps both get their lives back.

"Reign Over Me" stars Adam Sandler as Charlie Fineman, a man who lost his entire family in the tragic events of 9/11. It also stars the wonderful Don Cheadle as Alan Johnson, a dentist who has a quiet, normal life with his wife (Jada Pinkett Smith) and kids, but who is lonely and unsatisfied despite his many riches.

One day when Alan is stuck in Manhattan traffic, he sees his college roommate Charlie shooting through the streets on a strange little scooter. He calls out to Charlier over and over again, but it seems his old friend can't hear him.

That's when we hear Charlie's background story at the Johnson dinner table: Charlie's entire family--his beautiful wife and three daughters--was on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. No one has heard from Charlie since, and no one knows how he is doing. Alan becomes determined to find out, so he tracks Charlie down one day. And so begins the movie's story of this rather odd, redemptive friendship (on both sides) between two men who are lost--one more so than the other.

I've stayed away from the recent spate of 9/11 movies, because I haven't felt ready to "go there" again. Like for so many people I know, the events are too literally close to home. But this film is truly different. There are no visions of planes crashing into the towers, allusions to the towers falling, or any visual indication of that terrible day. "Reign Over Me" is a slow, quiet film. Nothing is overly dramatized.

After the initial dinner table conversaton about Charlie's past, all 9/11 references are dropped entirely. It doesn't need to be mentioned again--we all feel its intensity and tragedy enough to carry it within ourselves through the rest of the story. To trust the audience this way was rather brilliant on the director's part.

But while a lot is good in this film, (Don Cheadle--as always--is especially excellent in his role)there is an emptiness in this slow story of friendship. Are there holes in the story? Or is it simply that the viewer expects the movie to deliver an emotional payout that doesn't quite happen? I can't decide.

I felt my heartstrings get tugged many times--the idea for this story is vivid, powerful and possible. I couldn't help but feel for Charlie as he tools around the city with music blasting through his headphones, spending his days at the movies or playing Shadow of the Colossus (an excellent, wildly addictive video game I happen to love)--anything to forget the pain of his family's death and the man he was when they were alive.

Perhaps the problem is Adam Sandler. Despite his recent foray into "critically acclaimed" roles in movies like "Spanglish" and "Punch-Drunk Love," I didn't see "Adam Sander the actor" emerge in this film. I came away feeling like this was more the classic Adam Sandler of "The Waterboy" and "Click" in that he was the same actor who alternates between the little boy persona and the enraged, out of control man. It's just for darker purposes instead of laughs in "Reign Over Me."

I wonder whether audiences will feel distracted by this too. I wanted to believe he was Charlie Fineman, but I never forgot he was "Adam Sandler playing serious." And so I never quite rose above reality of sitting in the movie theater watching actors play their parts, despite the film's powerful premise.

"Reign Over Me" opens in theaters nationwide March 23. Watch clips from the movie here.

Since "The Secret" has made quite a splash on the new age-prosperity front (don't miss the Saturday Night Live skit making fun of Oprah's "Secret" fixation it from last weekend), why not let the Gospels show you how to make a fortune too?

Meet Russ Whitney, a self-made man who went from working for five dollars an hour at a slaughterhouse to multi-millionaire status almost literally overnight. He is also known as the "Real Estate Evangelist"--not only because he travels around preaching the gospel of how to get rich quick for upwards of $54,000 in seminar costs (at a place he calls "Millionaire U"), but also because the Bible helped him do it.

The New York Times article "Russ Whitney Wants You to Be Rich" explains: "Whitney says he reads [the Bible] 'for wisdom and forgiveness' for 15 minutes every morning after his workout. Without the Bible, he asked me, 'how would you know not to steal?' Without the Bible, he said, 'I'd be doing a whole lot of not looking in the mirror.'"

But his Bible journey hasn't been all about forgiveness, and there were some passages that worried him (but then his Baptist preacher helped him out of that conundrum):

"[Whitney] seems to have hesitated in his faith only once, when he read in Matthew, Mark and Luke that 'it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.' Whitney could understand the words only as they appeared: It seemed the Bible frowned on wealth-building almost as much as upon stealing. 'I was trying to figure that out,' he remembered, when his Baptist preacher intervened to explain, no, no--certain passages of the Bible must not be taken literally. A rich man must try harder to get into heaven, it's true, but the preacher told him, 'God wants you to be successful.'"

Lucky for the preacher, Whitney is now one of this Baptist church's biggest contributors.

Why, why, oh WHY can't "Smallville's" boy-Superman Clark Kent finally get it together with the love of his life, Lana Lang? Is it because the small-screen Clark must live up to the DC Comics and big-screen Clark, whose long-time love is Lois Lane? Shouldn't small-screen boy-Clark get to shake things up a bit?

Wacky is the only way to describe "Tortilla Heaven," this wonderful kitschy comedy film that will have a limited release starting March 16th. Isidor and his family own a restaurant called Tortilla Heaven (of course) in a tiny New Mexico town--so small it doesn't even have a paved road leading up to it. The townspeople are looking for a tourist attraction to spruce things up a bit.

And in a wonderful opening scene, we find Isidor resisting Sunday mass to stay in the kitchen and cook. As the camera cuts back and forth between the local parish priest consecrating the host and Isidor "consecrating" the tortillas in the restaurant, something magical occurs: The face of Jesus suddenly appears on one of the tortillas.

All sorts of hilarity ensues when the sacred tortilla is discovered. Among other miracles, the tortilla raises a pig from the dead (ha!), fixes a car, and heals a boy who can not walk. As the town gets what it always wanted--a serious tourist attraction--life then becomes complicated. Everyone wants a piece of the Jesus tortilla, so to speak, and there's only so much to go around.

Though the comedy goes a bit over the top after a while, "Tortilla Heaven" is one of those movies for anybody who appreciates religious kitsch and has a comedic tendency to see Jesus, Mary, and Mother Teresa in all sorts of crazy places (like grilled cheese sandwiches and danishes, among other edible items). The movie's not nearly as classic as the wonderful food fantasy "Like Water for Chocolate," but it will satiate audiences who like magic-in-the-kitchen cooking movies.

And if you, like me, love the new television series "Ugly Betty," then "Tortilla Heaven" won't disappoint you. Not only does the film have the melodramatic feel of "Ugly Betty," but Ana Ortiz (Betty's sister) has some great cameos.

I've already ranted twice about the latest horrifying New Age get-rich quick craze--"The Secret." But according to Peter Birkenhead of Salon.com, I'm not alone in feeling there is still more to reckon with as this book's popularity rises and reveals...