DON JON

So, what's dating like for guys in a world where they can get porn almost anywhere? And what are the other illusions affecting romance? These are some areas covered in Don Jon, written by, directed by, and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Don Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a fairly typical 20-something New Jersey guy. He lifts weights, has dinner with his family, goes to church and confession every week, hangs out at clubs with his buddies Bobby (Rob Brown) and Danny (Jeremy Luke), and seems to have endless one-night stands. Don also loves porn. He watches it all the time (even after bedding his latest conquest, while she sleeps), has a very well-defined system for looking for the perfect clips, and even explains at length why handling himself to porn is better than sex with an actual woman.

Eventually Don decides to try getting with a woman as hot as the hottest women he's seen in porn. This would be Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), a woman Jon describes as a ten but who shot him down. He decided to go for the long game with her, aiming for a long-term relationship instead of just sex. She is a sucker for romantic movies and relationships; she also uses her sex appeal to change Jon, from meeting his family and getting their friends together, to having Jon take a night course so he can become something more than a bartender. It's at the latter place that Jon meets Esther (Julianne Moore), a strange slightly older woman who may be sobbing one meeting, smoking week the next, and loaning Jon some "good" porn after she sees him watching some on his phone. And yes, even dating Barbara doesn't get Jon away from his beloved porn for long...

Don Jon is a intelligent, clever, modern take on what makes men men and women women -- complete with all their faults and agendas. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is wonderful in the title role, as he makes Jon both likeable and pathetic at the same time. Jon seems to want to go through life just having fun, while sounding like an addict when it comes to his porn; he keeps saying "I can stop anytime I want" while never stopping. Scarlett Johansson is very good as a woman who knows how to work her beauty to her advantage; I just wish the movie had more of her outside Jon, so we could learn more of what makes her tick. The supporting cast is very good (especially Tony Danza as Jon's foul-mouthed, football-addicted father, and Brie Larson as Don's sister who is almost always silently texting, whether at the dinner table or in church), and Julianne Moore gives another great performance as an atypical woman who is more vulnerable than the other characters in the movie. Don Jon won't settle the arguments about whether porn is good or bad (though the movie has plenty of examples of media's sex-filled images of women (and yes, that Carl's Jr. commercial in the movie is a real commercial)), but it does a very good job of entertaining while exploring what masculinity and feminity mean in the modern dating landscape. Overall grade: A- Reviewed by James Lynch

GAME CHANGE dvd

For better or worse, it's almost impossible to think about politics today without thinking about Sarah Palin.  The HBO movie Game Change, adapted from the book of the same name, takes a behind-the-scenes look at the selection, rise, and problems of this influential woman.

Game Change begins in 2008, when John McCain (Ed Harris) has just won his party's nomination for president.  Unfortunately, he trails Barack Obama by wide margins in the polls.  Campaign Manager Steve Schmit (Woody Harrelson) thinks Obama's success is a matter of style over substance and, in the era of YouTube, they need something different than another white male vice president selection to win.

Schmit's search leads him to Sarah Palin (Julianne Moore), a relatively unknown Alaska governor.  At first, she seems perfect: She's a religious, pro-life, pro-gun woman whose core beliefs will energize the Republican base.  She does a great job connecting with people on the campaign trail, her introduction at the Republican National Convention is akin to that of a rock star, and she raises massive amounts of money for the party.

Unfortunately, the quick vetting Palin recieved missed many of her problems.  She shows an amazing ignorance of politics, both domestic (not knowing what the Fed is) and foreign (not knowing Britain's politics are handled by the Prime Minister, not the Queen).  She's unprepared for the harshness of a national campaign, she's more concerned with her poll numbers in Alaska than nationally, and when she seems to outshine McCain she ignores any advice or suggestions from her campaign staff.

Much of these behind-the-scenes details about the 2008 campaign were already known -- from the original book to reports during the campaign -- so there's little that's surprising or a revelation in Game Change.  This is a pity, given the amazing quality of the acting here.  Moore doesn't just look exactly like Palin, but also brings forth her strengths and weaknesses.  With her performance, it's easy to understand both Palin's rapid popularity and the concerns she raised by anyone who got beneath the surface.  Ed Harris does a fine job making McCain the more pragmatic and experienced politician, while Woody Harrelson shines as the campaign expert becoming more and more exasperated trying to handle the vice-president pick with far more baggage than anyone expected.

The most meta scene in Game Change is when Moore-as-Palin lies in a hotel room, watching bitterly as Tina Fey-as-Palin makes fun of her on Saturday Night Live.  Game Change won't end the debates over Palin -- liberals will hail it as revealing truths, conservatives will damn it as a partisan attack -- but it is an entertaining behind-the-scenes look at the campaign -- and the person who changed politics.

(The dvd includes two too-brief features where newsmen and political strategists describe the tremendous difficulties of being in a presidential campaign.)

Overall grade: B+

Reviewed by James Lynch

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

Family is tricky -- and even more when it becomes unexpectedly expanded. The Kids Are All Right, written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko, is a both amusing and dramatic take on the joys and challenges of parenthood and marriage.

Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore) are a long-married pair who are quite different. Nic is a doctor, a very serious professional. Jules is a bit dazed -- she could easily be a hippy -- and about to start her latest business venture of landscaping. Their 18-year-old daughter Joni (Mia Wasikowska) is a few months away from leaving for college, while their 15-year old son Laser (Josh Hutcherson) spends most of his time with his delinquent buddy Clay (Eddie Hassell).

The big change to the family comes when Mia and Laser decide to contact their moms' sperm donor. Paul (Mark Ruffalo) seems like a nice guy: a restaurant owner, an organic gardener, casual in his relationships with women and about life in general. Paul hits it off with Mia and Laser, and the kids start spending more time with him. This has Nic and Jules feeling threatened, yet they don't want to turn Paul away and hurt their kids. But his presence soon has unexpected consequences, putting a lot of stress on the kids and the parents.

Far from lecturing about gay rights or biological vs. adoptive parents, The Kids Are All Right is about people and relationships. Nic and Jules feel like a real couple, whether supporting each other or bringing up old issues. The teenage kids may be filling two broad categories -- the too-serious student and the kid getting in trouble -- but they're not perfect or wise beyond their years. And Paul is just a relaxed guy suddenly feeling like a father. All the acting here is excellent.

Did I mention that this movie is also pretty funny? There's a lot of comedy here, from Jules' almost-dazed rambling to the kids asking too-personal questions of the parents. This isn't random jokes, but situational humor that's as much a part of the story as the drama. The Kids Are All Right is an excellent movie: thoughtful, amusing, dramatic, and ultimately entertaining.

Overall grade: A-
Reviewed by James Lynch

CHLOE

Chloe, a sexually tense drama, explores issues of fidelity, connection, and desire. Director Atom Egoyan uses the movie to explore what lurks beneath the surface of society, and even of people's intentions, and how it can rise and consume.

Catherine Stewart (Julianne Moore) should have a good life. She has a rewarding job as a gynecologist, her good-looking husband David (Liam Neeson) is a professor of classical music and opera, and her teenage son Michael (Max Thieriot) is doing better in therapy after some unspecified incident. Catherine has a beautiful house, lots of friends -- and suspicions. Catherine notices David flirting with almost every woman he meets ("I'm just being friendly," he answers), and his missing a plane home for his birthday increases Catherine's suspicions, especially after finding a message from a young female student to him the next day.

What's a concerned wife to do? Catherine comes up with an unusual plan. She hires Chloe (Amanda Seyfried), a streetwalker Catherine sees working by her office, to flirt with David, see if and how he responds, and then report what happens back to Catherine. Chloe is fine with this, treating it like just another business proposition. Things quickly get complicated, as Chloe goes way beyond what Catherine asked her to do with David, Chloe becomes more involved in Catherine's life, and Catherine keeps hiring Chloe even after learning what she said she wanted to find out.

While sexuality is a very large part of Chloe, this movie is more about the passions, or lack thereof, of the various characters. Moore makes Catherine a conflicted and suspicious woman, someone out to discover the truth but not willing to stop once she finds it. As for Sevigny, her character is, first and foremost, manipulative. She rattles off very explicit details of her tryst with a bored voice, yet she keeps drawing Catherine along into her world. Sevigny delivers a nice performance, keeping her character from becoming either a selfish gold digger or a streetwalker with a heart of gold. Liam Neeson has the least to do, spending most of the movie as a cipher: Is he cheating, or is Catherine imagining it as she wades through a world filled with beautiful young women.

The plot of Chloe goes overboard towards the end, as tensions and discoveries get blown up into psycho-obsessiveness, but until then this is an intriguing movie. Chloe uses the possibility of cheating as the opening for what people lack, want, and wind up needing from their partners and for themselves. This movie is very explicit -- both verbally and visually -- but at its core Chloe is about people discovering what they can't even admit they're looking for.

(Dvd extras are standard: interviews with the cast, plus movie commentaries.)

Overall grade: B
Reviewed by James Lynch

A SINGLE MAN

A portrait of grief, A Single Man is a look at one person's difficult position at a very different time in history.


George Falconer (Colin Firth) has been in a prolonged state of stasis. An Englishman living in California and teaching literature at college in November 1962, George is still reeling from the death of his partner Jimmy (Matthew Goode) eight months ago in a car accident. Still closeted, though he lived with Jimmy, George feels like he's going through the motions of life. Jimmy's day involves time with his partying friend Charley (Julianne Moore), a run-in with a gigilo Carlos (Jon Kortajarena), and the student Kenny (Nicholas Hoult) who may or may not be flirting with George. And George is putting his affairs in order and bringing a gun with him...

A Single Man is a profoundly personal film. Rather than lecturing on gay rights or commenting on history (the Cuban missile crisis is a footnote in the background of George's troubles), this movie is all about George and his thoughts as he moves through his world.

Colin Firth is wonderful in the lead role. He beautifully makes George a man who seems to say and do all the right things to get by, yet who feels the need for more. When George begins talking with his students about the fear of the minority, you can feel him trying to reach out while maintaining his secret. The rest of the cast is solid, yet there to support Firth. Director Tim Ford has a delicate touch with Firth's portrayal, though I would have liked less extreme close-ups to reflect the character's state of mind. All in all, A Single Man is a very moving and thoughtful movie experience.

Overall grade: A-
Reviewed by James Lynch

Next (2007)

Whenever I see a Nicolas Cage film, I always think the guy is just not acting, and he plays himself, which is a little flat. While he often plays the same character, with the same persona, once in a while he finds a role that this fits the bill. Rounding out the cast of Next is Julianne Moore, and Jessica Biel.

The premise of the film is that Cage is Chris Johnson, a stage magician at a second rate casino in Vegas, at a second rate show. Yeah, the guy's life is kind of mediocre, hence why Cage's persona gets the job done. However, this character does have one exceptional ability: he can see into the future. No, it's not a crystal ball type of thing, and it only gets him about two minutes ahead, but it still is kind of cool. It's also useful when he heads to the casino to supplement his income.

For some reason, as we plod ahead, Chris has a vision of meeting a woman, Liz Cooper played by Jessica Biel, at a diner at a certain time, and for whatever reason he thinks he is seeing this more than two minutes ahead which he has never done before. Add in another plot of a rogue nuclear weapon loose in the area, and we get a thriller. Hot on the tail of this soothsayer is Callie Ferris, played by Julianne Moore who thinks that Chris can tell her where the nuke is.

Many of us are always fascinated by these films that show the ability to look, or even travel into the future. I enjoyed Next because this time it was far more plausible than some overgrown time machine, although equally unrealistic. This film is reasonably acted, and plotted, and well paced. If you want to see an average attempt at the Hollywood blockbuster, than Next is a reasonable option.

Overall Grade: B

Reviewed by Jonas