Movies: March 2007 Archives

"The Peaceful Warrior," starring Nick Nolte, returns to theaters this weekend following its short-lived limited release last summer. In this screen version of Dan Millman's "The Way of the Peaceful Warrior," a young gymnast finds hope and learns to achieve his full potential with the help of Nolte's service-station mechanic/wise spiritual mentor, dubbed Socrates by the gymnast. For the role, Nolte was nominated for the Beliefnet Film Award for Best Spiritual Performance.

Before heading to theaters--or to Best Buy to get your free tickets--check out Beliefnet's coverage of the movie:

• Watch clips from the movie.
• Listen to, or read, an interview with Nick Nolte.
• Read a review of the movie.
• Read the debate about Nolte's Beliefnet Film Award nomination.

Some people send their friends e-cards. Some people send their friends plagues. Wait ... what?

If you're like me, you've seen the recent spate of ads for upcoming horror movie "The Reaping" starring Hilary Swank and featuring the tagline "What hath God wrought?" I'm not sure what the plot of the movie is, but the Biblical plagues definitely play a major part--just in time for Passover.

If you want to send locusts, blood, or darkness your friends, go here for a full selection.

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.

Gogol Ganguli. That’s the name Ashoke and Ashima fill out in the forms for their newborn when a letter from their grandmother--that was supposed to inform the Gangulis of their newborn’s name, as per the Bengali tradition of the elders choosing a "good name" for the baby--doesn't arrive in time.

Adapted from Jhumpa Lahiri's book, Mira Nair’s "The Namesake" tells us Gogol’s story--why Ashoke chose a Russian author's name for his son, why Gogol struggles with it, and how he comes to accept it. Interwoven in Gogol's struggle with his name is the story of the Ganguli family.

In the Hindu tradition, the namkaran, or naming ceremony, is the first important ritual for a baby. Besides giving a child an identity, the name is supposed to be the root of the child's destiny. Gogol is nothing like the traditional Sanskrit names that often draw upon Hindu mythology for their meanings. But Gogol's journey to find out what his name means to him is full of the questions we often ask ourselves, making "The Namesake" a compelling watch.

The film's eloquence comes from its nuanced interpretation of Gogol and his family’s struggle as Indian-Americans. It’s not merely about a battle between the East and West, a clash of Indian traditions and American explorations. It’s about finding a balance in between both those worlds.

Above all, it's a beautiful portrait of a family, a lyrical story that Nair paints with vivid montages of seminal moments in the Gangulis' lives. Drawing on her experience of growing up in Calcutta and love for Satyajit Ray films, Nair not only recreates an older Bengali era, she also conveys the deep bond between Ashoke and Ashima that grows from a tentative beginning to an unspoken understanding.

At the same time Nair, who counts New York City as one of her homes, portrays the youthful exuberance of Gogol’s Manhattan exploits with the insight and ease of a New Yorker. Just as the metaphor of the bridges in the movie, "The Namesake" is about bridging the gap.

It begins with an arranged marriage between Ashoke and Ashima. Bollywood stars Irrfan Khan and Tabu bring the couple's understated romance to life. As always, Khan is masterful in his interpretation of the somewhat eccentric professor Ashoke. Tabu’s take on Ashima’s life as a new bride in a new country to her journey back is heartfelt.

Then, there’s Gogol, played with charm by Kal Penn (known more for his comic role of Kumar in "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle"). As a child, Gogol loves the name his father gave him, preferring it to his formal name Nikhil. But as a gangly teenager growing into a suave architect, he starts to dislike it. His initial discomfort comes from the discovery of his namesake Russian author's idiosyncrasies. Later he wants to go by his formal name, Nikhil, to stake out his own identity outside of his father’s shadow.

Just as he struggles with his name, Gogol wrestles with the worlds inside and outside his parents' home. But when tragedy strikes the family, he begins on a journey of rediscovering his roots. But the journey goes much beyond a simple reclaiming of Gogol’s cultural heritage, an oft-explored movie theme. It's a deeper attempt to understand where one comes from, and that's what makes "The Namesake" a movie to be seen.

--Aparita Bhandari

In "Premonition," creaky stairs, dramatic music, and strange spiritual overtones try to create scares where there are none. This technique proves particularly weary in a church scene that has Sandra Bullock's Linda Hansen seeking advice from a priest who, huddled...

In 1994, there were very few safe havens for the Tutsi people of Rwanda when the violent rebels of the Hutu race began killing hundreds of thousands of Tutsi in a brutal civil war. The Ecole Technique Officielle, a school...

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...

Just once, I would like to be able to watch a movie and not have to worry about whether I should feel guilty about enjoying it. "300"--a stylized sword-and-sandal take on the epic Battle of Thermopylae, based on Frank Miller's...

If, like most of the world, you missed last year's limited theatrical release of "Peaceful Warrior," fret not. Universal is giving the film a second life, releasing it in theaters again on March 30. And to promote the release, Universal...

The opening number sets the scene for the rest of the film: There's the turmoil of rival gangs coupled with a nascent love story that will either unite the warring factions or cause a violent rift. But because this musical...